Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $23.90 Million Stake in HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 794,221 shares of the computer maker’s stock after selling 747 shares during the period. HP accounts for about 0.9% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in HP were worth $23,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on HPQ. Barclays lifted their target price on HP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut HP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of HP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, HP has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.11.

HP Stock Performance

Shares of HP stock traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $28.18. 6,648,423 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,200,519. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.92. The company has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.06. HP Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $33.90.

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

Insider Activity at HP

In other news, insider Kristen M. Ludgate sold 41,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.24, for a total transaction of $1,199,278.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,642,381.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 8,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kristen M. Ludgate sold 41,015 shares of HP stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.24, for a total value of $1,199,278.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,381.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,723 shares of company stock valued at $3,479,287 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.