Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 6,583 Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,155 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,583 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Pitney Bowes were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PBI. American Assets Inc. raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. American Assets Inc. now owns 130,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 58,000 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 126,424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 18,373 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Pitney Bowes by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 37,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $358,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth $1,068,000. 67.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBI opened at $11.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $11.22 and its 200 day moving average is $9.97. Pitney Bowes Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.22 and a 1 year high of $13.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.54.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 38.01% and a negative net margin of 5.60%. The company had revenue of $461.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Pitney Bowes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio is currently -53.33%.

Pitney Bowes announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 18.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sidoti raised Pitney Bowes to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pitney Bowes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Transactions at Pitney Bowes

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total transaction of $424,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 115,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,401,016.70. This represents a 23.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.