The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 334,730 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 21,058 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Home Depot were worth $130,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $6.11 on Friday, reaching $364.41. 2,282,537 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,460,352. The business's 50-day moving average is $360.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $390.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $362.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Home Depot's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

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.