Select Asset Management & Trust Purchases Shares of 969 The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Select Asset Management & Trust bought a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Home Depot by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after buying an additional 875,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after acquiring an additional 257,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,845,098,000 after acquiring an additional 647,552 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,715,668,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Price Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $354.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $369.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $394.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.08.

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.