Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $109.95 and last traded at $108.41, with a volume of 227696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.91.

Pegasystems Trading Up 5.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.96 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.44.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.76%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.00, for a total transaction of $188,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,547,804. The trade was a 10.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total transaction of $43,824.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,819 shares of company stock valued at $1,851,885 over the last three months. 50.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 266.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 390,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,641,000 after purchasing an additional 284,095 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,567,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 440.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 147,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,770,000 after buying an additional 120,090 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,688,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 709.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,563 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,131,000 after acquiring an additional 85,505 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.