Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Holdings in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) by 259.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,721 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 115,962 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.19% of Pegasystems worth $14,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,586 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PEGA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.83, for a total transaction of $70,560.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,973 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,006.59. This represents a 1.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $211,260.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,543 shares of company stock worth $6,253,614 in the last ninety days. 50.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pegasystems Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PEGA stock opened at $72.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 72.17 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.32. Pegasystems Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.55 and a twelve month high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. Equities research analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

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.