The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 200,725 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for 0.7% of Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $78,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in Home Depot by 17.8% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 43,941 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $17,805,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Down 2.1 %

Home Depot stock traded down $8.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $381.55. The company had a trading volume of 4,383,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,308,175. The stock has a market cap of $379.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $401.29 and a 200 day moving average of $399.57.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Home Depot's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost 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 2.41%. 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.