Sidoti Upgrades Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) to "Hold"

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Sidoti to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, May 5th,Zacks.com reports.

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

Pitney Bowes Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:PBI traded up $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,037,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,328. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of -8.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.47. Pitney Bowes has a 12 month low of $4.62 and a 12 month high of $11.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.41.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $493.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.99 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 7.71% and a negative return on equity of 20.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pitney Bowes

In other Pitney Bowes news, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.66, for a total value of $12,075,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 622,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,010,935. This trade represents a 66.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,941,529 shares of company stock worth $19,517,109. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pitney Bowes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Pitney Bowes by 130.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 2,873 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Pitney Bowes in the first quarter valued at about $65,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,283 shares of the technology company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.