HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Shares Purchased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) by 69.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,030,982 shares of the computer maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,064,869 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in HP were worth $151,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in HP by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 866 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in HP during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HP by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA acquired a new position in HP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of HP by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HP Price Performance

HP stock opened at $27.68 on Wednesday. HP Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.22 and a 52-week high of $33.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.05.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The computer maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. The firm had revenue of $13.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.56 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 181.02% and a net margin of 6.45%. The business’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that HP Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.2756 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. HP’s dividend payout ratio is 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HP

In other HP news, Director Robert R. Bennett sold 67,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $2,010,670.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,807,082.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 8,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $269,338.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert R. Bennett sold 67,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $2,010,670.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,807,082.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,723 shares of company stock worth $3,479,287. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on HPQ. HSBC upgraded shares of HP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered HP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of HP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.11.

HP 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.