Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,171 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc boosted its position in Home Depot by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in Home Depot by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Home Depot by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after buying an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Home Depot by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,291,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $1,793,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on HD. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.50.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD opened at $376.66 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $400.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $400.02.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 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 business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.