PDS Planning Inc Grows Stake in HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)

PDS Planning Inc raised its position in HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,416 shares of the computer maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in HP were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HPQ. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in HP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in HP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of HP during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of HP during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. 77.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HPQ opened at $28.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $27.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.09. HP Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.43 and a 52-week high of $39.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.28.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The computer maker reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.35 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 253.39% and a net margin of 5.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that HP Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2894 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. HP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Insider Activity at HP

In other HP news, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.50, for a total transaction of $357,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,277 shares in the company, valued at $204,002.50. This trade represents a 63.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital lowered their target price on HP from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised HP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of HP from $37.00 to $36.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of HP from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of HP from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.14.

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.