Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,276 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136,936 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $8,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HPE. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 397.9% during the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 2,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of HPE stock opened at $17.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.41. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a fifty-two week low of $11.97 and a fifty-two week high of $24.66.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.37%.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 6,409 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.19, for a total value of $84,534.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on HPE shares. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.60.

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.