The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,109,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,209,041 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.61% of Home Depot worth $2,376,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $446,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its holdings in Home Depot by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 749 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Prospector Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 32,586 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,676,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.6 %

HD stock opened at $353.78 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $384.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $398.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. 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 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.