Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 19,830 Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 788,203 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,830 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Pitney Bowes worth $7,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,162,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,716 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,245,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 103.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,269,207 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,189,000 after purchasing an additional 644,002 shares during the period. PEAK6 LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,547,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,396,000. 67.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PBI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Pitney Bowes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Sidoti raised Pitney Bowes to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Pitney Bowes Trading Down 3.2%

PBI stock opened at $11.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of -12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.60. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.58 and a 1 year high of $12.55.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 7.18% and a negative return on equity of 31.61%. Pitney Bowes’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Pitney Bowes’s payout ratio is presently -30.77%.

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.