Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Xerox (NYSE:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 1,689 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Stock Performance

NYSE XRX traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,373,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,525,859. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.41. The company has a market cap of $966.23 million, a P/E ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 1.59. Xerox has a 12 month low of $7.70 and a 12 month high of $19.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Xerox Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. Xerox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xerox

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Xerox by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,969,127 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $176,140,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228,806 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Xerox by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,763,679 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $132,888,000 after buying an additional 199,598 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xerox by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,808,775 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $29,161,000 after buying an additional 62,947 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xerox by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,812,102 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $15,276,000 after purchasing an additional 92,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Xerox by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,706,086 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $14,382,000 after purchasing an additional 94,779 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XRX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Xerox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Xerox from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Xerox from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Xerox Company Profile

Xerox Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a workplace technology company that integrates hardware, services, and software for enterprises in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Print and Other; and FITTLE.