Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,266 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HD. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,540,197,000 after purchasing an additional 347,614 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Home Depot by 1.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,889,000 after purchasing an additional 153,141 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.3 %

HD stock traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $339.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,255,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,320,687. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.26 and a 1 year high of $396.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $360.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $343.54. The company has a market capitalization of $336.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. 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 dividend yield of 2.65%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.19.

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.