Simmons Bank Decreases Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Simmons Bank lessened its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,453 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises 0.8% of Simmons Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $11,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 10.8% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 171,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $69,340,000 after buying an additional 16,650 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Home Depot by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Home Depot by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 363,367 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $147,236,000 after purchasing an additional 29,558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE HD opened at $393.52 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $401.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $398.48. The stock has a market cap of $390.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.12.

About Home Depot

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.