Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Trading Up 3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) rose 3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $9.75 and last traded at $9.76. Approximately 240,928 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,905,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.47.

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, March 3rd.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.55, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.32 and a 200 day moving average of $8.03.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 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 predict 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 was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 2.51%. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio is presently -21.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total value of $1,407,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 176,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,650.35. This represents a 42.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 in the company, valued at $1,119,598.48. This trade represents a 22.00 % 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 worth $19,815,631. Insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pitney Bowes

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Pitney Bowes by 130.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 7,478 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the third quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.88% of the company’s stock.

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.