Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Increases Holdings in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 510,700 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 125,200 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.28% of Pitney Bowes worth $3,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 317,594 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,299,000 after buying an additional 40,125 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 12,522.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 57,180 shares of the technology company's stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 56,727 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth about $1,068,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth about $358,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st.

Pitney Bowes Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE PBI traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.38. 628,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,436,463. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.07 and a 1 year high of $11.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.48, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.89.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders 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 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes's payout ratio is currently -21.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pitney Bowes

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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,907,650.35. The trade was a 42.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 124,124 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,598.48. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock valued at $19,815,631. 9.00% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.