Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Shares Up 8.8% Following Dividend Announcement

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) traded up 8.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $10.62 and last traded at $10.62. 1,920,584 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 2,276,239 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.76.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.17%.

Pitney Bowes Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 2.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.41.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.16. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 13.02% and a negative return on equity of 12.85%. Research analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Pitney Bowes news, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 78,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.66, for a total value of $834,518.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 606,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,463,040.74. This trade represents a 11.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Evans purchased 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.80 per share, with a total value of $226,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,405,593 shares of company stock valued at $13,568,759. Company insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Pitney Bowes by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,162,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,716 shares in the last quarter. Hestia Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $114,326,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,628,672 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,878,000 after purchasing an additional 51,093 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,814,811 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 586,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 182.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 967,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,897,000 after purchasing an additional 624,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.88% of the company’s stock.

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.