HUB Investment Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,562 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $6,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in Home Depot by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 6,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 614 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Home Depot by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 375,164 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $145,935,000 after purchasing an additional 68,491 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in Home Depot by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 3,063 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Home Depot by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 630,519 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $245,266,000 after buying an additional 8,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $353.35 on Thursday. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $395.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.08. The company has a market cap of $351.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date 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 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.