Optimist Retirement Group LLC Acquires 165 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 5.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,434 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Pegasystems were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 80.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 15,120.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 761 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 64.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 869 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 633.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $124,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $66.35 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.17 and a 200-day moving average of $62.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.92 and a beta of 1.07. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.66 and a twelve month high of $72.74.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.30. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 49.62%. The company had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. Pegasystems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. William Blair upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.60.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In related news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $70,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,535,350. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $70,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,535,350. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.21, for a total transaction of $45,277.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,064.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,955 shares of company stock valued at $3,303,771. 50.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.