Jennison Associates LLC Buys 1,207,388 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 38.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up approximately 1.1% of Jennison Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Home Depot worth $1,506,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 88,444 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $26,725,000 after acquiring an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Wolf Group Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 7,513 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel grew its holdings in Home Depot by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Home Depot by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 8,153 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $336.02. 3,111,599 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,347,626. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $366.77 and a 200 day moving average of $340.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot's payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $415.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Home Depot from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $375.96.

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.