Horan Securities Inc. Lowers Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Horan Securities Inc. cut its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,574 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.4% of Horan Securities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Horan Securities Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 21,394.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $793,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030,372 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at about $336,231,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after buying an additional 795,438 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 7,554,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,925,498,000 after acquiring an additional 599,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $376.66 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $400.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $399.81. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.