The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Bought by Becker Capital Management Inc.

Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,901 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 1.2% of Becker Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Becker Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $36,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,251,142,000 after purchasing an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after buying an additional 257,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,845,098,000 after acquiring an additional 647,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,726,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424,857 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $6.11 on Friday, hitting $364.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,282,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,460,349. The company has a market capitalization of $362.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $361.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $390.89.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Home Depot's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $437.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $434.08.

Home Depot Company 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.