Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Xerox (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 1,689 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Xerox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xerox presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Xerox Stock Performance

Shares of XRX opened at $5.80 on Thursday. Xerox has a one year low of $5.62 and a one year high of $18.18. The company has a market cap of $726.63 million, a PE ratio of -0.54 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.82 and a 200-day moving average of $8.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Xerox Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.62%. Xerox’s dividend payout ratio is -4.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xerox

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of XRX. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Xerox by 33.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,969,127 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $176,140,000 after buying an additional 4,228,806 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Xerox by 397.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,378,215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $11,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,171 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Xerox by 2,846.8% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,128,973 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $9,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090,661 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Xerox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,101,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xerox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,067,000. 85.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xerox Company Profile

Xerox Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a workplace technology company that integrates hardware, services, and software for enterprises in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Print and Other; and FITTLE.