Ashburton Jersey Ltd Sells 15,459 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd reduced its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 62.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,161 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 15,459 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises 1.6% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,535,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,758 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after buying an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in Home Depot by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,357,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,291,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,793,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $353.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The stock has a market cap of $351.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $384.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $398.25.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 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.