Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBI opened at $10.62 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.76. Pitney Bowes has a fifty-two week low of $3.90 and a fifty-two week high of $11.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. 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. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -21.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $12,075,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 622,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,935. The trade was a 66.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 124,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,598.48. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,493,285 shares of company stock valued at $14,633,118 in the last quarter. 14.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,162,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,716 shares in the last quarter. Hestia Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,326,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pitney Bowes by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,628,672 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,878,000 after acquiring an additional 51,093 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,814,811 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 586,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Pitney Bowes by 103.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,269,207 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,189,000 after acquiring an additional 644,002 shares during the last quarter. 67.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.