Empirical Finance LLC Lowers Position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,951 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 558 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HPE. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 80.3% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 45.5% in the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,999 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

NYSE:HPE opened at $21.41 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.46. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1-year low of $14.47 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.19.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is 27.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hewlett Packard Enterprise presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, EVP John F. Schultz sold 262,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.62, for a total value of $5,682,125.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 270,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,846,696.60. This represents a 49.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 50,000 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total transaction of $1,173,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 104,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,386.24. This represents a 32.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 332,166 shares of company stock worth $7,300,629. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.