Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $1.07 Million in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 147,447 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,068,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Pitney Bowes as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. James J. Burns & Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 18,587 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in 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 valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 130.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 625,939 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 48,663 shares of the technology company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Pitney Bowes Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of PBI traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $7.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,887,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,046,040. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.92 and a 52-week high of $11.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.89.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is presently -21.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,119,598.48. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 481,199 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $5,182,513.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 584,636 shares in the company, valued at $6,296,529.72. The trade was a 45.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,974,484 shares of company stock valued at $19,815,631 in the last quarter. Insiders own 14.30% of the company's stock.

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.