Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,047 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,032,910,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,715,668,000 after buying an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,052,091 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,521,173,000 after buying an additional 468,203 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $353.78 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $384.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $398.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

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.