Kristen M. Ludgate Sells 74,356 Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Stock

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) insider Kristen M. Ludgate sold 74,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.43, for a total transaction of $2,560,077.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,898.67. The trade was a 56.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

HP Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of HPQ stock opened at $33.83 on Wednesday. HP Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.42 and a 12 month high of $39.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.51 and its 200 day moving average is $35.81.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The computer maker reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.99 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 253.39% and a net margin of 5.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that HP Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

HP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2894 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This is a positive change from HP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. HP’s payout ratio is presently 40.93%.

HP declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the computer maker to purchase up to 28.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HPQ shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on HP from $37.00 to $36.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Hsbc Global Res cut HP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Bank of America lowered shares of HP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of HP from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of HP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of HP during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in HP by 115.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 968 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in HP during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of HP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of HP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other 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.