Ellsworth Advisors LLC Acquires 465 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,284 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,968,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pegasystems by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 819,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,895,000 after acquiring an additional 25,901 shares during the period. Luxor Capital Group LP grew its position in Pegasystems by 7.9% in the second quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 683,939 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,399,000 after acquiring an additional 49,861 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Pegasystems by 104.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 554,777 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,381,000 after acquiring an additional 283,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 484,296 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total transaction of $43,824.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,547,804. This represents a 10.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,914 shares of company stock worth $2,414,935 in the last three months. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PEGA stock opened at $103.29 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.39 and a beta of 1.09. Pegasystems Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.95 and a 12 month high of $105.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.03.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The company had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Pegasystems’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.12%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.