Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 575,010 Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,296,265 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 575,010 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.26% of Pitney Bowes worth $16,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PBI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Pitney Bowes by 130.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 214,181 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 18,583 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter valued at about $498,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 768,373 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,563,000 after buying an additional 30,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hestia Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.88% of the company’s stock.

Pitney Bowes Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PBI opened at $9.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of -8.42, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.18 and its 200 day moving average is $7.95. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.90 and a 52 week high of $11.01.

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

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. This is an increase from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes’s payout ratio is presently -21.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total transaction of $1,407,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,650.35. The trade was a 42.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.66, for a total value of $12,075,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 622,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,935. This represents a 66.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock valued at $19,815,631. 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.