Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Upgraded by Sidoti to "Hold" Rating

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Sidoti to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PBI opened at $9.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.36. Pitney Bowes has a 1-year low of $4.62 and a 1-year high of $11.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total value of $1,407,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,907,650.35. The trade was a 42.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.66, for a total value of $12,075,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 622,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,935. The trade was a 66.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,941,529 shares of company stock valued at $19,517,109. 9.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pitney Bowes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 130.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 1st quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position 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 last quarter. 67.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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