Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 36,717 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 791,257 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 36,717 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $307,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,981,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 54,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $21,011,000 after buying an additional 12,428 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 89,529 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $34,826,000 after acquiring an additional 13,193 shares during the period. Moment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,690,570 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $657,936,000 after acquiring an additional 134,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.3 %

HD opened at $362.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $391.94 and its 200 day moving average is $398.90. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $359.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. 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 yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HD. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

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.