Sapient Capital LLC Buys Shares of 122,197 The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 122,197 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $42,347,000. Home Depot comprises about 1.1% of Sapient Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,730,889,000 after buying an additional 153,141 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after purchasing an additional 195,670 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Home Depot by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,904,000 after purchasing an additional 346,641 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 2.2 %

Home Depot stock traded up $7.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $342.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,165,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,606,830. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $361.75 and its 200 day moving average is $342.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HD. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer lowered Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.