Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 8,330 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 630,519 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 8,330 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for approximately 0.6% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.06% of Home Depot worth $245,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 21,394.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $793,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030,372 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at about $336,231,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Home Depot by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,554,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,925,498,000 after buying an additional 599,490 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $353.35 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $395.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $399.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $351.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.77 and a 1-year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Home Depot from $455.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

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.