Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,209 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,199 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Pitney Bowes worth $740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 130.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 2,873 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,283 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on PBI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Pitney Bowes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sidoti raised Pitney Bowes to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Transactions at Pitney Bowes

In related news, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 481,199 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 584,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,296,529.72. The trade was a 45.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,650.35. The trade was a 42.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 613,244 shares of company stock valued at $6,607,591 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Pitney Bowes Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Pitney Bowes stock opened at $9.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.81 and its 200-day moving average is $8.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.47. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.62 and a 12-month high of $11.01.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $493.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $498.99 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 20.95% and a negative net margin of 7.71%. Pitney Bowes’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 earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Pitney Bowes’s payout ratio is -30.77%.

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.