Nelson Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Nelson Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,103 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake 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 boosted its stake in Home Depot by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 8.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $433.44.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $393.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $390.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $401.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $398.48.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend yield of 2.34%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

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.