Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Raises Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,217 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $15,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HD. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Home Depot by 10.8% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 171,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $69,340,000 after purchasing an additional 16,650 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in Home Depot by 17.8% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Home Depot by 17.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Home Depot by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,860 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $396.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $401.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.06. 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 stock has a market cap of $394.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.