Norden Group LLC Raises Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2,374.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,576 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 141,613 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up 0.6% of Norden Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $56,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 24.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 620,297 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $187,358,000 after acquiring an additional 121,315 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 119.8% in the third quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,945 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 5.7% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 22,859 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.4% in the third quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC now owns 28,152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,507,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 31.4% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 286,370 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $86,530,000 after acquiring an additional 68,354 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $333.58 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.26 and a 1 year high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.56. The company has a market capitalization of $330.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The firm had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.42.

About Home Depot

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.