Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $1.07 Million Position in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 147,447 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,068,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.08% of Pitney Bowes as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 130.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Pitney Bowes by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,283 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the fourth quarter valued at about $130,000. 67.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 481,199 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $5,182,513.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 584,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,296,529.72. The trade was a 45.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total value of $1,407,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,650.35. This trade represents a 42.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,941,529 shares of company stock worth $19,517,109 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

Pitney Bowes Stock Up 3.5 %

PBI opened at $9.06 on Monday. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.62 and a 52 week high of $11.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.89.

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

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -21.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Pitney Bowes 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PBI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.