National Pension Service Grows Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

National Pension Service raised its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,858,658 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 238,389 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up 0.7% of National Pension Service’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.19% of Home Depot worth $753,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 51,250.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762,735 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 33,540.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,478,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $509,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,459 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at approximately $513,016,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 15.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,853,143,000 after purchasing an additional 971,833 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at approximately $301,364,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:HD opened at $395.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $392.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.15. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $286.79 and a fifty-two week high of $421.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $392.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $362.47.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 681.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.65 EPS. Analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 60.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $375.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Loop Capital raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $413.48.

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.