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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 26,864 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 41% compared to the average volume of 19,108 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $266,271.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,615 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,145. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at about $292,959,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter worth approximately $119,067,000. Slate Path Capital LP grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Slate Path Capital LP now owns 12,689,164 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $270,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924,039 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,184,240 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $345,534,000 after buying an additional 3,208,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1,382.5% during the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 3,299,615 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,447,000 after buying an additional 3,077,046 shares during the period. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.27.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

Shares of HPE opened at $15.97 on Friday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a twelve month low of $14.64 and a twelve month high of $24.66. The company has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.70 and a 200 day moving average of $20.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.37%.

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.