Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Price Target Raised to $115.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $90.00 to $115.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush raised their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $94.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.98 and a beta of 1.09. Pegasystems has a 1-year low of $44.07 and a 1-year high of $97.94.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Pegasystems’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. 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 Activity at Pegasystems

In related news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $80,070.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,119 shares in the company, valued at $3,772,818.33. This trade represents a 2.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.00, for a total transaction of $188,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,547,804. This trade represents a 10.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,914 shares of company stock worth $2,414,935 in the last 90 days. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the second quarter valued at about $67,968,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 819,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,895,000 after acquiring an additional 25,901 shares during the period. Luxor Capital Group LP raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 7.9% during the second quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 683,939 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,399,000 after purchasing an additional 49,861 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Pegasystems by 104.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 554,777 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,381,000 after purchasing an additional 283,508 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 533,948 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,304,000 after purchasing an additional 34,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

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.