Opinicus Capital Inc. Takes Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Opinicus Capital Inc. purchased a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,417 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,184,000. Home Depot makes up 1.2% of Opinicus Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HD. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,210,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,468,902 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $746,003,000 after acquiring an additional 421,619 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Home Depot by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,904,000 after acquiring an additional 346,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded up $3.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $335.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,465,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $364.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.68. The company has a market capitalization of $332.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on HD. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $323.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Company Profile

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.