Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 1,772 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,210 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,772 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises 0.7% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $49,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:HD opened at $390.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $401.17 and a 200-day moving average of $398.42. The company has a market cap of $387.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

About Home Depot

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States and internationally. It sells various building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and décor products, as well as facilities maintenance, repair, and operations products. The company also offers installation services for flooring, water heaters, bath, garage doors, cabinets, cabinet makeovers, countertops, sheds, furnaces and central air systems, and windows.