Traders Buy Large Volume of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Put Options (NYSE:HPE)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 32,649 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 57% compared to the average volume of 20,742 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HPE has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $23.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.27.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 13.0 %

Shares of HPE traded down $2.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $14.03. The company had a trading volume of 21,140,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,051,268. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52-week low of $13.99 and a 52-week high of $24.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders 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 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.37%.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the third quarter valued at $404,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,600 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 21.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 93,735 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 16,660 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 14.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 46.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 83,817 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 26,488 shares during the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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.