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

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

PBI stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,350,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,674. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.10. Pitney Bowes has a 52-week low of $3.90 and a 52-week high of $11.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of -8.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.02.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts predict that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pitney Bowes

In other Pitney Bowes 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 value of $1,407,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,650.35. The trade was a 42.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 481,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $5,182,513.23. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock worth $19,815,631 over the last three months. Company insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBI. Hestia Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter valued at about $114,326,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Pitney Bowes by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,162,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,716 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,245,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 103.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,269,207 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,189,000 after purchasing an additional 644,002 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 182.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 967,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,897,000 after buying an additional 624,878 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.88% 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.