Knuff & Co LLC Lowers Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Knuff & Co LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for 1.1% of Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position 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 valued at $1,506,659,000 after buying an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth $207,210,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 20.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,468,902 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $746,003,000 after acquiring an additional 421,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Home Depot by 11.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,904,000 after acquiring an additional 346,641 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of HD stock traded up $7.32 on Friday, hitting $342.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,165,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,606,830. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $361.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.08. The company has a market cap of $339.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on HD shares. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

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.