Johnson Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,525 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 3,926 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,032,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 21,394.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $793,486,000 after buying an additional 2,030,372 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 559.5% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,032,082 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $387,706,000 after buying an additional 875,591 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE HD traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $359.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,836,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,458,275. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $363.21 and a 200 day moving average of $391.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot's payout ratio is 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HD. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.