Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) Stake Reduced by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) by 43.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,032 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 166,654 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.12% of Pitney Bowes worth $1,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter worth about $1,068,000. American Assets Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. American Assets Inc. now owns 130,000 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 58,000 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,167 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 13,006 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 233,597 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 34,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Pitney Bowes Stock Down 0.8%

PBI stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.27. 3,924,456 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,499,936. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.58 and a 52 week high of $13.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.60.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 5.60% and a negative return on equity of 37.88%. The company had revenue of $461.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 18.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $424,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 115,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,401,016.70. This represents a 23.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.