HP Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 24,846 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 85% compared to the average volume of 13,410 call options.

HP Stock Down 2.0%

HPQ stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.67. The company had a trading volume of 12,249,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,844,250. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.45. The stock has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.32. HP has a 12 month low of $21.21 and a 12 month high of $39.80.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The computer maker reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.09). HP had a negative return on equity of 253.39% and a net margin of 5.18%. The firm had revenue of $13.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. HP's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that HP will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be issued a $0.2894 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. HP's payout ratio is 44.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HP news, insider Anneliese Olson sold 21,545 shares of HP stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $613,817.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,814.81. The trade was a 99.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 15,646 shares of HP stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $453,734.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of HP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $229,320,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $179,037,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,260,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,612,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of HP by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,340,629 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $314,022,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829,411 shares in the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HPQ shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of HP from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of HP from $38.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of HP from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded HP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, KGI Securities began coverage on HP in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.54.

HP Company Profile

HP Inc provides products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It operates through Personal Systems and Printing segments. The Personal Systems segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, thin clients, commercial tablets and mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support, and services for the commercial and consumer markets.