The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Morse Asset Management Inc

Morse Asset Management Inc lessened its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,362 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,135 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for about 2.5% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $11,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after buying an additional 257,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,845,098,000 after purchasing an additional 647,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HD. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $470.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.32.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $376.06 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $358.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $388.50. 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 capitalization of $373.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 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.