Traders Buy Large Volume of HP Call Options (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 19,642 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 55% compared to the typical volume of 12,641 call options.

HP Stock Performance

HPQ opened at $27.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.86. HP has a twelve month low of $25.79 and a twelve month high of $39.80.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The computer maker reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The company had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.35 billion. HP had a net margin of 5.18% and a negative return on equity of 253.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.2894 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. HP’s dividend payout ratio is 41.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HPQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of HP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of HP from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of HP from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on HP from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of HP from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HP news, insider Anneliese Olson sold 21,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $613,817.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,814.81. This represents a 99.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 15,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $453,734.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HPQ. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in HP by 72.6% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,725 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 6,192 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in HP by 136.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 42,578 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 24,600 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in HP by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 526,662 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $18,891,000 after buying an additional 53,341 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of HP in the 3rd quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HP by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 50,109 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 14,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

About HP

HP Inc provides products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It operates through Personal Systems and Printing segments. The Personal Systems segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, thin clients, commercial tablets and mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support, and services for the commercial and consumer markets.