Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 768,373 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,658 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.42% of Pitney Bowes worth $5,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hestia Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,326,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,628,672 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,878,000 after purchasing an additional 51,093 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,814,811 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,139,000 after buying an additional 586,249 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 182.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 967,384 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,897,000 after buying an additional 624,878 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 625,939 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,532,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. 67.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PBI opened at $10.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.48, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.01. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.90 and a 12 month high of $11.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.76.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.16. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 7.71% and a negative return on equity of 20.95%. Analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -21.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Transactions at Pitney Bowes

In related news, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of Pitney Bowes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total value of $1,407,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,650.35. This trade represents a 42.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of Pitney Bowes stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $315,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 124,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,598.48. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,493,285 shares of company stock valued at $14,633,118 in the last 90 days. 14.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pitney Bowes Company Profile

Pitney Bowes Inc, a shipping and mailing company, provides technology, logistics, and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises, retailers, and government clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through Global Ecommerce, Presort Services, and SendTech Solutions segments.