Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock reached a new 52-week high of $25.79 after Citigroup raised its price target from $26.00 to $28.00, maintaining a buy rating.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO Antonio F. Neri selling 166,666 shares valued at approximately $3.75 million, reducing his ownership by nearly 8%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 2.0%, effective for shareholders on record by September 18th.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $28.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Hewlett Packard Enterprise traded as high as $25.58 and last traded at $25.79, with a volume of 175464 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.79.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other news, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 166,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.52, for a total value of $3,753,318.32. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $983,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,500.02. This represents a 32.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 543,738 shares of company stock valued at $12,922,932 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HPE. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the first quarter worth about $571,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the first quarter worth about $164,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.1% during the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 96,318 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.3% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 31,437 shares of the technology company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 345.0% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Up 3.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $33.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.84 and its 200-day moving average is $19.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 18th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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