Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Upgraded at Sidoti

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Sidoti to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Pitney Bowes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

NYSE:PBI opened at $9.06 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of -8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.47. Pitney Bowes has a fifty-two week low of $4.62 and a fifty-two week high of $11.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.36.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pitney Bowes news, EVP James Arthur Fairweather sold 130,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.83, for a total value of $1,407,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,650.35. This trade represents a 42.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.66, for a total value of $12,075,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 622,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,935. This represents a 66.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,941,529 shares of company stock worth $19,517,109 in the last quarter. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hestia Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,326,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 768,373 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,563,000 after acquiring an additional 30,658 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Pitney Bowes by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,814,811 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,139,000 after acquiring an additional 586,249 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. American Assets Inc. now owns 130,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 58,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 182.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 967,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,897,000 after buying an additional 624,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.