Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 67.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,946 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,810 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth $1,275,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Pegasystems by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 658,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,713,000 after buying an additional 22,941 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth $9,798,000. USA Financial Portformulas Corp acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Finally, Teachers Advisors LLC raised its position in Pegasystems by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 107,736 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,878,000 after buying an additional 38,047 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.04% of the company’s stock.
Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) opened at 59.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.10 and its 200 day moving average is $49.46. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.71 and a 1-year high of $64.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.53 and a beta of 1.46.
Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.16. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 5.26%. The business had revenue of $223.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.52 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post $1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 3rd were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.08%.
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A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BidaskClub lowered shares of Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $67.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, June 6th. JMP Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, Benchmark Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Pegasystems currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.
In other Pegasystems news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 19,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.65, for a total value of $1,090,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 569,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,707,644.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Jones sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.90, for a total value of $810,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 537,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,109,206.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,886 shares of company stock valued at $5,044,204 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 53.61% of the company’s stock.
About Pegasystems
Pegasystems Inc develops, markets, licenses and supports software applications for marketing, sales and onboarding, and customer service needs. The Company also offers software applications built on the Pega platform. Its software is designed to assist clients in building, deploying and evolving enterprise applications.
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