Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday.

Pitney Bowes Trading Down 6.5 %

PBI stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $7.76. The company had a trading volume of 669,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,017,207. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.13. Pitney Bowes has a 1 year low of $3.90 and a 1 year high of $11.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.92, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.02.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.71% and a negative return on equity of 20.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.06 dividend. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is currently -21.43%.

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Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 124,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,598.48. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 78,285 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.66, for a total transaction of $834,518.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 606,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,463,040.74. This represents a 11.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock worth $19,815,631. Corporate insiders own 14.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PBI. Hestia Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,326,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 768,373 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,563,000 after acquiring an additional 30,658 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Pitney Bowes by 47.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 586,249 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. American Assets Inc. now owns 130,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 58,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 3,308.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 320,152 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,283,000 after buying an additional 310,758 shares during the period. 67.88% of the stock is owned by 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.