Prudential PLC Cuts Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Prudential PLC cut its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,381 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $35,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $37,251,142,000 after buying an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $5,032,910,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Home Depot by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,052,091 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $3,521,173,000 after purchasing an additional 468,203 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD traded down $15.59 on Monday, hitting $338.32. The stock had a trading volume of 3,032,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,456,763. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $384.89 and a 200-day moving average of $398.35. The company has a market capitalization of $336.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $435.85.

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.