Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 42,692 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management cut its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,859 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 42,692 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises 2.1% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Home Depot were worth $41,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 0.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $8,767,449,000 after purchasing an additional 433,126 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $5,032,910,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,715,668,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Home Depot by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,554,880 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,925,498,000 after purchasing an additional 599,490 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $435.85.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD stock traded up $5.73 on Wednesday, hitting $371.25. 3,108,791 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,446,411. The company has a 50 day moving average of $388.06 and a 200 day moving average of $398.84. The stock has a market cap of $369.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot's payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Home Depot 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.