Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 760 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,920 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 760 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for 1.3% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in Home Depot by 33,540.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,478,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $509,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,459 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at $513,016,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,853,143,000 after buying an additional 971,833 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $301,364,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,917,286 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,886,271,000 after buying an additional 569,690 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $410.67.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE HD opened at $401.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $421.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $387.35 and a 200-day moving average of $359.15. The company has a market cap of $398.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 681.27%. The firm had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.36%.

Home Depot 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.