Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) by 71.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,183 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,061 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HPE. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the third quarter valued at about $404,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 56,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after buying an additional 6,600 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 21.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 93,735 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 16,660 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,923 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 83,817 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 26,488 shares during the period. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HPE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In related news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $266,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,118,145. This trade represents a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HPE opened at $16.14 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.41. The company has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a fifty-two week low of $14.64 and a fifty-two week high of $24.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is 25.37%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise 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.