Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Shares Up 3% – Should You Buy?

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)’s share price traded up 3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.75 and last traded at $9.76. 240,928 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,905,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Pitney Bowes Stock Up 0.0 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.41 and a 200-day moving average of $8.05. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.48, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.02.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. 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 was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio is currently -21.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of Pitney Bowes 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 124,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,598.48. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 481,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $5,182,513.23. Following the transaction, the director now owns 584,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,296,529.72. This represents a 45.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock worth $19,815,631. Insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 130.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 2,873 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Pitney Bowes by 889.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,319 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 7,478 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,283 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth $107,000. 67.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pitney Bowes

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.