Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $11.01, but opened at $11.50. Pitney Bowes shares last traded at $12.29, with a volume of 1,040,818 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBI has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Sidoti upgraded Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.27.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $493.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $498.99 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 31.61% and a negative net margin of 7.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -30.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

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.