FIL Ltd Raises Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,618 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,075 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $46,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $353.38 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $376.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $396.27. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $351.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The company 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%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase 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%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.