California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 36,876 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,494,928 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 36,876 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 0.6% of California Public Employees Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.25% of Home Depot worth $970,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% during the third quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD traded up $5.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $371.41. 1,399,773 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,439,764. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $369.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a PEG 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $388.06 and a 200-day moving average of $398.84.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for 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%. Home Depot's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS 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 issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on HD shares. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $435.85.

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.