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

Optimist Retirement Group LLC reduced its position in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 5.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,992 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,306 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 10,103 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,638,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $571,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $229,000. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $211,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total transaction of $28,973.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,003 shares of company stock worth $1,346,086. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Down 0.1 %

PEGA stock opened at $108.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.19 and a beta of 1.11. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.82 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $98.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.11.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEGA. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.82.

Pegasystems 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.