HP (NYSE:HPQ) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Insider Selling

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $27.30 and last traded at $27.47, with a volume of 449962 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.90.

Specifically, insider Anneliese Olson sold 21,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total transaction of $613,817.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,814.81. This trade represents a 99.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 15,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of HP from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of HP from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of HP from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded HP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on HP from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.14.

HP Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.98.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The computer maker reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The firm 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 Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.2894 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. HP’s payout ratio is presently 41.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPQ. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HP by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 9,636 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in HP by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 16,796 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in HP by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,467 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HP by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 8,650 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of HP by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 12,648 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HP Company Profile

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.