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

Key Points

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) experienced a significant rise in call options trading, with 379,906 options purchased—an increase of 1,107% from the typical daily volume.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for HPE, with Raymond James increasing it to $30.00 and Susquehanna to $21.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, scheduled for payment on October 17th, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 379,906 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,107% compared to the typical daily volume of 31,483 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 68,590 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $1,264,799.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 166,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.52, for a total value of $3,753,318.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,919,060 shares in the company, valued at $43,217,231.20. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 668,590 shares of company stock valued at $15,265,033 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,804,055 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,472,493,000 after buying an additional 2,604,059 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,421,976 shares of the technology company's stock worth $701,864,000 after buying an additional 724,974 shares during the period. Elliott Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 2nd quarter worth $381,004,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 17,584,742 shares of the technology company's stock worth $271,333,000 after buying an additional 2,373,850 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,730,015 shares of the technology company's stock worth $258,144,000 after buying an additional 545,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on HPE shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.81.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of HPE stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.99. The company had a trading volume of 32,894,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,789,748. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.98 and a 200 day moving average of $18.69. 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 market cap of $32.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.43. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1-year low of $11.97 and a 1-year high of $25.35.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend payout ratio is 63.41%.

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.