Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Lowers Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 735,808 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 180,099 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for about 1.3% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.07% of Home Depot worth $254,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,137,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,754 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 5,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 4,417 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 145,435 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $50,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.3 %

Home Depot stock traded down $1.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $331.90. 3,786,779 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,364,632. The company’s 50-day moving average is $365.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.46. 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 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The firm has a market cap of $328.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

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 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently 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.