AlphaQuest LLC Takes $468,000 Position in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 64,608 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. James J. Burns & Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 18,587 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 20,677 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,873 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Pitney Bowes by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 625,939 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,532,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Pitney Bowes by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 48,663 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,728 shares during the last quarter. 67.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Pitney Bowes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Pitney Bowes

In other Pitney Bowes news, Director Kurt James Wolf sold 78,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.66, for a total transaction of $834,518.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 606,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,463,040.74. This trade represents a 11.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,598.48. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,974,484 shares of company stock worth $19,815,631. 14.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

NYSE PBI opened at $9.09 on Friday. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a one year low of $3.90 and a one year high of $11.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.11, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.02.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last announced 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 return on equity of 20.95% and a negative net margin of 7.71%. Equities analysts predict that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -21.43%.

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.