Virtu Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,861 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 80.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,846 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Pegasystems by 219.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,008 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of PEGA stock opened at $57.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.22 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.93. Pegasystems Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.66 and a 12-month high of $69.26.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 45.00% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business had revenue of $330.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.70 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Pegasystems from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Pegasystems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.13.

Insider Activity

In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $48,278.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,148. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total value of $48,278.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,148. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $608,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 369,658 shares in the company, valued at $22,504,779.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,504 shares of company stock worth $950,634. 50.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pegasystems Profile

Pegasystems Inc develops, markets, licenses, hosts, and supports enterprise software in the United States, rest of the Americas, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides Pega Infinity, a software portfolio comprising of Pega Customer Decision Hub, a real-time AI-powered decision engine to enhance customer acquisition and experiences across inbound, outbound, and paid media channels; Pega Customer Service to anticipate customer needs, connect customers to people and systems, and automate customer interactions to evolve the customer service experience, as well as to allow enterprises to deliver interactions across channels and enhance employee productivity; and Pega Platform, an intelligent automation software for increasing efficiency of clients' processes and workflows.