Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on HP (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 44,633 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 30% compared to the typical daily volume of 34,273 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HPQ. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of HP in a report on Thursday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised HP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of HP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of HP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.77.

HP Stock Up 8.2%

Shares of HP stock opened at $35.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.18. HP has a twelve month low of $17.56 and a twelve month high of $36.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.69.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The computer maker reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 947.78% and a net margin of 4.14%.HP’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.190-3.290 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.690-0.790 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HP will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

HP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. HP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David McQuarrie sold 21,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.98, for a total transaction of $631,019.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,186,608.40. This represents a 34.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock worth $1,218,890 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HP in the second quarter valued at about $2,357,757,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of HP by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,703,639 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $1,450,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651,623 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in HP by 2,151.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 35,563,906 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $780,272,000 after buying an additional 33,984,527 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in HP by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,313,924 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $607,373,000 after buying an additional 274,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in HP in the 2nd quarter worth about $545,984,000. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HP

HP Inc is a global technology company that develops and sells personal computing and printing products and related services. Its Personal Systems business offers laptops, desktop computers, workstations, gaming PCs, monitors, peripherals and accessories for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations.

Through its Printing business, HP provides home and office printers, commercial printing systems, supplies such as ink and toner, and managed print services. The company also offers software and solutions designed to support device management, security, productivity and digital workflows.

HP serves customers in markets around the world through direct sales, online channels, retailers, distributors and business partners.