Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $24.66 and last traded at $24.47, with a volume of 1865263 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HPE. StockNews.com downgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $29.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Friday, October 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.91 and a 200 day moving average of $20.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $1,173,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 104,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,445,386.24. This represents a 32.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 7,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $178,733.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 61,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,419,905. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 332,166 shares of company stock valued at $7,300,629. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,492,740 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $642,748,000 after purchasing an additional 251,076 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 18.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 27,383,858 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $560,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,194,213 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,939,160 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,602,000 after buying an additional 617,691 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 6.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,696,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $321,149,000 after buying an additional 921,624 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,609,078 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $196,602,000 after buying an additional 129,463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

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.