River Global Investors LLP Lowers Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

River Global Investors LLP lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,256 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,889,000 after purchasing an additional 153,141 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after buying an additional 195,670 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Home Depot by 11.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value 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 $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 2.2 %

Home Depot stock traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $342.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,165,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,606,830. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $361.75 and a 200-day moving average of $342.77. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The stock has a market cap of $339.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

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.