Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 151,353 Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. $PBI

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. by 0.7%, acquiring an additional 151,353 shares, bringing its total to over 21 million shares valued at approximately $192.89 million.
• The company announced a new $400 million share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock being undervalued, while also declaring a quarterly dividend increase to $0.08 per share.
• Pitney Bowes has reported a negative return on equity of 38.01% and a revenue decline of 5.7% year-over-year, raising concerns among analysts despite meeting earnings expectations.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,313,865 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 151,353 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.65% of Pitney Bowes worth $192,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PBI. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,245,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Pitney Bowes by 103.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,269,207 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,189,000 after buying an additional 644,002 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Pitney Bowes by 407.1% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 518,220 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,690,000 after buying an additional 416,023 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Pitney Bowes by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 932,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,752,000 after buying an additional 280,402 shares during the period. 67.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $424,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 115,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,401,016.70. This trade represents a 23.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

Pitney Bowes stock opened at $11.4150 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.03, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.54. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.22 and a 52-week high of $13.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $11.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27. The firm had revenue of $461.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $475.92 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 38.01% and a negative net margin of 5.60%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Pitney Bowes has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.200-1.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 18.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -53.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PBI. Sidoti upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pitney Bowes has an average rating of "Hold".

Pitney Bowes Company 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.

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