Scotia Capital Inc. Buys 31,243 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 480,251 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 31,243 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 1.0% of Scotia Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $186,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 10.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,471,223 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $596,140,000 after purchasing an additional 141,915 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 12.9% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 30,497 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $12,357,000 after buying an additional 3,493 shares in the last quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth $2,406,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Home Depot by 10.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 612,888 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $248,342,000 after acquiring an additional 58,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,544,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, HSBC raised Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $1.08 on Monday, reaching $354.94. The stock had a trading volume of 885,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,479,608. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $375.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $395.97. The stock has a market cap of $352.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Home Depot's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

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.