Certior Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,146 The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,146 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,251,142,000 after purchasing an additional 875,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $5,032,910,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,715,668,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,052,091 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,521,173,000 after acquiring an additional 468,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:HD opened at $353.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $384.89 and a 200 day moving average of $398.35.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $2.30 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Ten 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

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.