Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Sells 65 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,922 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $9,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 41,097 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $15,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 22,327 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,685,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,562 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,442,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in Home Depot by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 6,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 614 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $355.31 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $394.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.78. 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 posted 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. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.