Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Boosts Stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE)

Key Points

• Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 60.3%, acquiring an additional 21,307 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 56,651 shares valued at approximately $874,000.
• Analysts have updated their target prices for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, with Raymond James raising its target from $23.00 to $26.00, reflecting strong market interest and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.5%, indicating a solid return to shareholders amidst increasing institutional investment.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Free Report) by 60.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,651 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,307 shares during the quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 345.0% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company's stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Up 3.5%

HPE stock traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,056,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,976,586. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company has a 1 year low of $11.97 and a 1 year high of $24.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 4.60% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HPE. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Thursday, July 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 68,590 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $1,264,799.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Phil Mottram sold 30,000 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total value of $616,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $871,450.58. This trade represents a 41.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,590 shares of company stock valued at $2,436,000 in the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

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.