The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. lowered its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 57.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 104 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $40,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HD. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after acquiring an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,471,223 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $596,140,000 after acquiring an additional 141,915 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,458 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 10,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $364.82 on Thursday. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $362.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $399.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $399.78.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

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.