Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 143,281 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,377,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 143,281 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $535,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bcwm LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $10,286,000. Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its stake in Home Depot by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 12,026 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,494,928 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $970,502,000 after purchasing an additional 36,876 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $934,000. Finally, Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. now owns 9,886 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on HD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.85.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD opened at $357.86 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $389.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $355.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

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.