Baillie Gifford & Co. Grows Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,928 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,328 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $21,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HD. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.35.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD traded down $3.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $347.26. 4,103,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,301,542. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $344.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Home Depot's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot's payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

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.