Empirical Finance LLC Increases Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up 0.9% of Empirical Finance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $14,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,117,016,000 after purchasing an additional 992,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Home Depot by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,769,610 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $613,258,000 after purchasing an additional 495,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $359.77 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.