Choreo LLC Lowers Stock Position in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Key Points

• Choreo LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 71.5% during the first quarter, leaving it with only 13,831 shares valued at $125,000.
• Pitney Bowes has declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share and announced a stock repurchase program authorized for up to $400 million.
• Wall Street analysts have adjusted their ratings for Pitney Bowes, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it to a "buy" and Sidoti upgrading it to a "hold" rating.

Choreo LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) by 71.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,831 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 34,729 shares during the period. Choreo LLC's holdings in Pitney Bowes were worth $125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the technology company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 102,197 shares of the technology company's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 37,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,275 shares of the technology company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 67.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total transaction of $424,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 115,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,401,016.70. The trade was a 23.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PBI. Sidoti upgraded Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

PBI stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.27. The stock had a trading volume of 3,924,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,243,312. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of -18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.54. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.58 and a 12-month high of $13.11. The company's 50-day moving average price is $10.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.70.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The firm had revenue of $461.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $475.92 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 5.60% and a negative return on equity of 38.01%. Pitney Bowes's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 18.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This is an increase from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is presently -30.77%.

Pitney Bowes 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.