Algert Global LLC Increases Stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) by 78.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 613,843 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 269,014 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned about 0.34% of Pitney Bowes worth $4,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 298.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 277,469 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 207,838 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 593.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 106,633 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 91,251 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 624,878 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Pitney Bowes by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,814,811 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 586,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Pitney Bowes by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 625,939 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PBI shares. StockNews.com upgraded Pitney Bowes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sidoti upgraded Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Pitney Bowes Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:PBI traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,040,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,475. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.29, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.41. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.62 and a 52 week high of $11.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $493.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $498.99 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 20.95% and a negative net margin of 7.71%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.07 dividend. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is presently -30.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total transaction of $1,407,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,650.35. This represents a 42.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 622,250 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,935. This trade represents a 66.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,941,529 shares of company stock valued at $19,517,109 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.00% 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.