KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 363,842 The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 363,842 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $141,531,000. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.7% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its holdings in Home Depot by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,535,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,758 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,873 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Home Depot by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Home Depot by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HD. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.0 %

HD stock opened at $352.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $349.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $393.97 and its 200 day moving average is $398.66.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

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.