Hewlett Packard Enterprise Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HPE)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors bought 253,426 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 916% compared to the typical daily volume of 24,951 call options.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HPE opened at $21.60 on Friday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 12-month low of $14.47 and a 12-month high of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.99.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $7.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.96%.

Insider Transactions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In related news, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.51, for a total value of $975,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 150,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,944,995.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 18,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.96, for a total value of $310,758.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,575.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.51, for a total value of $975,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 150,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,944,995.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,680 shares of company stock valued at $2,667,136 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 932,921 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,841,000 after buying an additional 108,971 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,562,640 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,534,000 after buying an additional 232,150 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,024,719 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,272,000 after buying an additional 36,793 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter valued at about $348,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 80,501 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on HPE shares. Argus upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, June 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hewlett Packard Enterprise presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.69.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other.