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

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,680 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 41,328 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $60,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 680,703 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $264,786,000 after purchasing an additional 31,948 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Home Depot by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 15,364 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $5,976,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,087,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Holcombe Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $929,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $434.08.

Home Depot Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of HD stock opened at $354.85 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company has a market capitalization of $352.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $369.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $394.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders 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 2.59%. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

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.

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