Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Decreases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. trimmed its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,163 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 1.9% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $13,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth about $563,524,000. Public Investment Fund purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the second quarter worth approximately $450,346,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 14.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,729,735 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,211,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,660 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $341,915,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 94,440,614 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,059,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $360.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on Home Depot from $335.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Cowen reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $379.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $337.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.45.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $288.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $310.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.66. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $264.51 and a 52 week high of $347.25. The stock has a market cap of $292.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.93.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.04. Home Depot had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 4,929.40%. The business had revenue of $35.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 9th will be given a $2.09 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. This represents a $8.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 8th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.12%.

Home Depot Company Profile

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The Home Depot, Inc engages in the sale of building materials and home improvement products. Its products include building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products and decor products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: U.S., Canada and Mexico. It offers home improvement installation services, and tool and equipment rental.