Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) Sees Large Volume Increase on Strong Earnings

Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 1,346,535 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 138% from the previous session’s volume of 566,609 shares.The stock last traded at $52.05 and had previously closed at $52.65.

The software maker reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $184.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.91 million. Progress Software had a net margin of 10.11% and a return on equity of 37.42%. Progress Software’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS.

Progress Software Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Progress Software’s payout ratio is 44.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRGS. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Progress Software from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Progress Software in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Progress Software from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progress Software news, EVP Sundar Subramanian sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total transaction of $39,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at $726,657.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Progress Software news, CAO Domenic Lococo sold 4,503 shares of Progress Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $256,671.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165,300. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sundar Subramanian sold 750 shares of Progress Software stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total transaction of $39,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at $726,657.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,998 shares of company stock worth $4,651,992. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progress Software

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRGS. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Progress Software by 23.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,145 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Progress Software by 19.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,822 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Progress Software by 57.1% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 23,303 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 8,470 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Progress Software by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 111,895 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $5,269,000 after acquiring an additional 7,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of Progress Software by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 38,088 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951 shares during the period.

Progress Software Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.21.

Progress Software Company Profile

Progress Software Corporation develops, deploys, and manages business applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, an application development platform for running business-critical applications; Chef, a DevOps/DevSecOps automation software; Developer Tools that consists of software development tooling collection, including .NET and JavaScript UI components for web, desktop and mobile applications, reporting and report management tools, and automated testing and mocking tools; Kemp LoadMaster, an application delivery and security product offering cloud-native, and virtual and hardware load balancers; and Sitefinity, a digital experience platform foundation delivering intelligent and ROI-driving tools for marketers.