Ethic Inc. Purchases 13,542 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,580 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 13,542 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises 0.7% of Ethic Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $36,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $470.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Home Depot from $445.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.32.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.5%

Home Depot stock traded down $2.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $374.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,320,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,434,370. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The firm's 50 day moving average is $358.02 and its 200 day moving average is $388.50. The company has a market cap of $372.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 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 firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. 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.