Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,448 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $436,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 110.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 25,195 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,567,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,968,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Pegasystems during the third quarter worth $497,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $94.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 68.95 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $89.26 and its 200 day moving average is $73.89. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.07 and a 52 week high of $97.94.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The business had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Pegasystems’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 8.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $54,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,763,936. This trade represents a 1.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $80,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,119 shares in the company, valued at $3,772,818.33. The trade was a 2.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,914 shares of company stock worth $2,283,688. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEGA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Pegasystems Company 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.