Shelton Capital Management Boosts Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Shelton Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,038 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 8,058 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management's holdings in Home Depot were worth $19,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Canopy Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management raised its holdings in Home Depot by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 2,899 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 595,304 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $231,567,000 after buying an additional 20,662 shares during the last quarter. U S Wealth Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,970,000. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,934 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. Gordon Haskett downgraded Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $434.08.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded down $0.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $353.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,574,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,489,908. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $375.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $395.97. The company has a market capitalization of $351.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company'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 firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is 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.