Empirical Finance LLC Grows Stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,921 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HPE. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,879,051 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $275,819,000 after purchasing an additional 634,727 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 7.2% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 918,519 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,955,000 after acquiring an additional 44,530 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 87,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 29,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 49,511 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 4,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of HPE traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.17. The stock had a trading volume of 9,182,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,098,848. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1-year low of $14.47 and a 1-year high of $22.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.58. The company has a market cap of $27.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 8.49%. The company had revenue of $7.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 18,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.96, for a total value of $310,758.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $263,575.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.51, for a total value of $975,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 150,948 shares in the company, valued at $2,944,995.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 18,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.96, for a total transaction of $310,758.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $263,575.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,464 shares of company stock valued at $3,160,866 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on HPE. Argus upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, June 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.08.

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.