MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,357 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progress Software in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Progress Software by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,231 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progress Software in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progress Software by 225,100.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Progress Software by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,300 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Ainsworth sold 30,631 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total value of $1,563,099.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,633,062.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John Ainsworth sold 30,631 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total value of $1,563,099.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,633,062.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anthony Folger sold 3,767 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total transaction of $190,233.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,895,871. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,224 shares of company stock valued at $2,569,513 over the last quarter. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progress Software Stock Up 1.1 %

PRGS traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.08. 25,095 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,212. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.93. Progress Software Co. has a twelve month low of $48.00 and a twelve month high of $62.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 25th. The software maker reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. Progress Software had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 36.88%. The company had revenue of $175.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.60 million. Equities analysts expect that Progress Software Co. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Progress Software Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Progress Software’s dividend payout ratio is 42.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRGS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Progress Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Progress Software from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Progress Software in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progress Software from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Progress Software in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progress Software currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.29.

Progress Software Profile

Progress Software Corporation develops, deploys, and manages business applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, an application development platform for running business-critical applications; Chef, a DevOps/DevSecOps automation software; Developer Tools that consists of software development tooling collection, including .NET and JavaScript UI components for web, desktop and mobile applications, reporting and report management tools, and automated testing and mocking tools; Kemp LoadMaster, an application delivery and security product offering cloud-native, and virtual and hardware load balancers; and Sitefinity, a digital experience platform foundation delivering intelligent and ROI-driving tools for marketers.