Pitney Bowes Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PBI)

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 4,516 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 204% compared to the average daily volume of 1,486 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PBI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Pitney Bowes from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Pitney Bowes from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $15.20 price target on Pitney Bowes in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Pitney Bowes from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Pitney Bowes from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.43.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

Shares of PBI traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.48. 496,886 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,886,130. Pitney Bowes has a 1-year low of $8.95 and a 1-year high of $18.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.51 and its 200 day moving average is $12.94.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 8.92%.The firm had revenue of $477.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pitney Bowes will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Pitney Bowes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.83%.

Insider Transactions at Pitney Bowes

In other news, CEO Kurt James Wolf sold 316,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.10, for a total transaction of $5,408,388.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 217,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,726,603. This trade represents a 59.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 18,750 shares of Pitney Bowes stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.06, for a total transaction of $301,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,571,117.68. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,351,337 shares of company stock valued at $53,313,134 over the last three months. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBI. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Pitney Bowes by 246.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,197,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,364,000 after buying an additional 2,986,689 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pitney Bowes by 89.5% during the third quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 3,364,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,389,000 after buying an additional 1,588,579 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $16,403,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes during the first quarter worth approximately $12,950,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,630,801 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,808,000 after acquiring an additional 988,653 shares during the last quarter. 67.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pitney Bowes Company Profile

Pitney Bowes Inc (NYSE: PBI) is an American technology company that specializes in shipping, mailing, and e-commerce solutions. Founded in 1920 by Walter Bowes and Arthur Pitney, the company pioneered postage meter technology and has since evolved to offer a broad portfolio of hardware, software, and services designed to streamline physical and digital communications. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Pitney Bowes leverages a century of expertise to serve enterprises, small businesses, and government agencies around the globe.

The company’s core offerings span mailing and shipping equipment, including postage meters, folder inserters, and address verification systems, alongside integrated software platforms for customer information management, data analytics, and location intelligence.