State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,584 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises about 0.6% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $116,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,793,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $389.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $401.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $399.57. The stock has a market cap of $386.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

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.