AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Buys 1,811 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,702 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 1.3% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $97,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 36.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $414.53 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $407.14 and its 200 day moving average is $390.53. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HD. Loop Capital raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

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.