Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 30,658 Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 768,373 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,658 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.42% of Pitney Bowes worth $5,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 889.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,319 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 7,478 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes in the 3rd quarter worth about $86,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 101.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 16,340 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 8,221 shares during the period. James J. Burns & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 20,677 shares of the technology company's stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the period. 67.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pitney Bowes Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of PBI traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.59. 1,350,849 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,583,350. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.90 and a fifty-two week high of $11.01. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $8.77 and its 200 day moving average is $7.80.

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Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.71% and a negative return on equity of 20.95%. Analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is presently -21.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pitney Bowes

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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 124,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,598.48. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.66, for a total transaction of $12,075,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 622,250 shares of the company's stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock valued at $19,815,631. 14.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Pitney Bowes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday.

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.