Zacks Investment Management Sells 54,200 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Zacks Investment Management reduced its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 499,862 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 54,200 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 1.8% of Zacks Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Zacks Investment Management owned 0.05% of Home Depot worth $194,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $3,535,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,758 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $9,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in Home Depot by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,357,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Home Depot by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $5,291,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investors L.L.C. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $409,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $8.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $354.85. 3,231,380 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,469,143. 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 cap of $352.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $369.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $394.32.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $434.08.

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.