Sepio Capital LP Invests $328,000 in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sepio Capital LP bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 842 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HD. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Gordon Haskett downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE HD opened at $353.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $351.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $384.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $398.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.