Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $11.00 and last traded at $10.61, with a volume of 4088895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.32.

Pitney Bowes Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.61, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Pitney Bowes’s payout ratio is presently -21.43%.

Insider Transactions at Pitney Bowes

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 124,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,598.48. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.66, for a total transaction of $12,075,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 622,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,935. This trade represents a 66.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,535,593 shares of company stock worth $14,976,659 over the last quarter. 14.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 889.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,319 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 7,478 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,283 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.88% 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.