Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,577 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 740 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 1.1% of Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $6,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HD. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 25,894 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $10,073,000 after purchasing an additional 3,147 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its holdings in Home Depot by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 3,321 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 25,140 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE HD opened at $354.28 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $366.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $393.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, 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 was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were 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 was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HD shares. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to 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.