106,905 Shares in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) Acquired by GSA Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP made a new investment of $967,000 in Pitney Bowes Inc. by acquiring 106,905 shares during the first quarter.
• The company's Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan allowing for the repurchase of up to $400 million in shares, indicative of a belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Pitney Bowes recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.08, reflecting a commitment to return value to shareholders despite a negative net margin.

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 106,905 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $967,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned 0.06% of Pitney Bowes as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PBI. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 14.6% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 102,197 shares of the technology company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 37,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 2,962 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,275 shares of the technology company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 3,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

Shares of Pitney Bowes stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $11.43. 995,215 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,489,067. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.58 and a 12 month high of $13.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.54.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $461.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.92 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 38.01% and a negative net margin of 5.60%. Pitney Bowes's quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is currently -46.67%.

Pitney Bowes announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 18.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sidoti upgraded Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of Pitney Bowes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $424,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 115,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,016.70. The trade was a 23.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.