Machina Capital S.A.S. Decreases Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 72.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 868 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,336 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities raised shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.50.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $376.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $374.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $400.21 and its 200 day moving average is $400.02. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $2.30 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Home Depot 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.