The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,287,526 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 20,545 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for about 2.6% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.13% of Home Depot worth $500,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake 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 during the period. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 43,941 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $17,805,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HD. Bank of America increased their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $389.03 on Tuesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $386.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $401.29 and a 200-day moving average of $399.57.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.