Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Shares Up 3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) were up 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 changed hands 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.32 and a 200 day moving average of $8.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.55, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.02.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.95% and a negative net margin of 7.71%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders 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 positive change from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Pitney Bowes’s payout ratio is currently -21.43%.

Insider Activity at Pitney Bowes

In other news, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of Pitney Bowes 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 622,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,935. The trade was a 66.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $315,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 124,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,598.48. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock worth $19,815,631. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in PBI. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 88,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 24,952 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 344,829 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 149,944 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes during the third quarter worth approximately $197,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the third quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 33.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 84,893 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 21,367 shares during the period. 67.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.