Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 218,599 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 77.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 499,532 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 218,599 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $32,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 80.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Pegasystems by 219.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Pegasystems stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $59.97. 241,359 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,897. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.37. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.77 and a beta of 1.08. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.66 and a 1 year high of $69.26.

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

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PEGA shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Pegasystems from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $608,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 369,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,504,779.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sharon T. Rowlands purchased 8,600 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.63 per share, with a total value of $504,218.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 30,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,809,966.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $608,800.00. Following 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. Insiders sold 16,504 shares of company stock valued at $999,794 in the last three months. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Pegasystems

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.