HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Position Boosted by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,523 shares of the computer maker's stock after purchasing an additional 16,207 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in HP were worth $2,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in shares of HP by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 17,673 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in HP by 488.9% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,539 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 41,127 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in HP by 21.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,781 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of HP by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 110,917 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $3,979,000 after buying an additional 14,063 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of HP by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 230,347 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $8,263,000 after buying an additional 12,531 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HP Stock Performance

HPQ stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.83. 8,286,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,838,668. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $36.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.81. HP Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.42 and a fifty-two week high of $39.79. The stock has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.04.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The computer maker reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.99 billion. HP had a net margin of 5.18% and a negative return on equity of 253.39%. HP's revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that HP Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

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

HP Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HP news, insider Kristen M. Ludgate sold 74,356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.43, for a total value of $2,560,077.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 56,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,933,898.67. This trade represents a 56.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Alex Cho sold 10,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.32, for a total value of $353,427.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 64,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,219,680.32. This trade represents a 13.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 262,035 shares of company stock worth $9,312,568 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on HPQ shares. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of HP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upped their price target on HP from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America downgraded shares of HP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on HP from $37.00 to $36.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of HP from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HP presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.45.

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.