Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Sells 14,476 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. trimmed its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,606 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 14,476 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $41,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 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 the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $3.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $359.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,746,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,467,124. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a market capitalization of $357.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $365.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $393.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Home Depot's 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.