Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 3,000 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 484,296 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.56% of Pegasystems worth $35,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,968,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 266.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 390,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,641,000 after acquiring an additional 284,095 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 104.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 554,777 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,381,000 after purchasing an additional 283,508 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter worth about $9,567,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,599,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Trading Up 1.2 %

PEGA stock opened at $96.45 on Wednesday. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.07 and a 1-year high of $96.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.47 and its 200-day moving average is $68.38. The firm has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.40 and a beta of 1.06.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $326.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.12%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is 8.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PEGA. StockNews.com raised Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush boosted their target price 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JMP Securities raised shares of Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.90.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.88, for a total value of $698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 357,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,951,213.04. This trade represents a 2.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $43,824.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,595 shares of company stock valued at $2,454,034. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

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.