Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $26.19 Million Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Palisade Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 75,581 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 2.9% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $26,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HD. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after buying an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter worth approximately $207,210,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 20.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,468,902 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $746,003,000 after acquiring an additional 421,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,540,197,000 after acquiring an additional 347,614 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $339.35. 1,732,144 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,325,923. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $360.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $343.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The firm has a market cap of $336.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush raised their price target on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.19.

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.