Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Pitney Bowes Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PBI opened at $10.05 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $8.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.79. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of -8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.01. Pitney Bowes has a twelve month low of $3.90 and a twelve month high of $11.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -21.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value 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. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 622,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,935. This represents a 66.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock valued at $19,815,631. Company insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pitney Bowes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hestia Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,326,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,162,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,217,000 after buying an additional 1,299,716 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter worth $6,245,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Pitney Bowes by 103.0% during 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 period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 valued at $6,897,000 after acquiring an additional 624,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.88% of the company’s stock.

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.