Bailard Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,842 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 0.9% of Bailard Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $33,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HD. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 10.8% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 171,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $69,340,000 after purchasing an additional 16,650 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Home Depot by 17.8% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Swedbank AB grew its position in Home Depot by 17.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after acquiring an additional 132,967 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in Home Depot by 1.6% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,860 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.6 %

Home Depot stock opened at $396.69 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.77 and a 1-year high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $394.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $401.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $399.06.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

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.