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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 67,631 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 72% compared to the average daily volume of 39,407 call options.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In related news, EVP Maeve C. Culloty sold 3,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total value of $93,898.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 166,666 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.52, for a total transaction of $3,753,318.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,919,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,217,231.20. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 543,738 shares of company stock valued at $12,922,932. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $15,663,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the first quarter valued at $301,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 22.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 153,320 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 28,123 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter valued at $300,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the first quarter valued at $164,000. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on HPE shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.06.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HPE opened at $26.08 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $34.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.46. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a one year low of $11.97 and a one year high of $26.44.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 18th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 18th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.41%.

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.