Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 97,300 Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 867,971 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 97,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.48% of Pitney Bowes worth $6,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Pitney Bowes by 130.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,283 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Pitney Bowes by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBI traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $8.33. 334,388 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,075,241. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.89. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.07 and a 1-year high of $11.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.16. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 7.71% and a negative return on equity of 20.95%. On average, research analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is -21.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pitney Bowes news, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $1,907,650.35. This represents a 42.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of Pitney Bowes stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $315,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 124,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,598.48. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,974,484 shares of company stock worth $19,815,631 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

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.