Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Free Report) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,561,022 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,892 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise worth $31,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HPE. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 14,953.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 23,189,645 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $490,925,000 after buying an additional 23,035,594 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3,228.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 8,825,249 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $186,831,000 after purchasing an additional 8,560,086 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3,537.0% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,788,154 shares of the technology company's stock worth $127,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,629,006 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the third quarter valued at $105,185,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 336.7% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,269,603 shares of the technology company's stock worth $90,387,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company's stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HPE traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.89. 5,955,384 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,373,273. The firm has a market cap of $28.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.21. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a fifty-two week low of $14.47 and a fifty-two week high of $24.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.17.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is presently 27.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HPE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 7,770 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $163,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,771 shares in the company, valued at $163,191. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 83,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.72, for a total transaction of $1,643,346.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,758,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,680,400.52. This represents a 4.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 717,601 shares of company stock valued at $15,140,976 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company 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.