Optimist Retirement Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,137 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 335 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Pegasystems by 49.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,791 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 6,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.67, for a total value of $586,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,748,176.22. The trade was a 25.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $71,139.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,003 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,086 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEGA. Citigroup increased their price target on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.82.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ PEGA opened at $108.49 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.11. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.19 and a beta of 1.11. Pegasystems Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.82 and a 1 year high of $113.67.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

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

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.