Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Price Target Raised to $60.00 at Loop Capital

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) had its price target hoisted by Loop Capital from $52.50 to $60.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on PEGA. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.50 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Pegasystems from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Pegasystems from $47.50 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.05.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Pegasystems stock opened at $52.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.13 and a beta of 1.13. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $28.31 and a fifty-two week high of $56.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.99.

Pegasystems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This is an increase from Pegasystems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is 11.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.25, for a total transaction of $3,039,750.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 34,243,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,230,540. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Gerard Higgins sold 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $1,209,380.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,026 shares in the company, valued at $1,943,698.99. This trade represents a 38.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,530 shares of company stock valued at $15,410,731 in the last three months. Company insiders own 49.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Pegasystems by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 139.7% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 599 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 1st quarter worth about $57,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.