Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,938,405 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,032,910,000. Home Depot accounts for about 0.7% of Norges Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Norges Bank owned 1.30% of Home Depot at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after buying an additional 875,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,767,449,000 after purchasing an additional 433,126 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,715,668,000 after acquiring an additional 125,441 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,253,952,000 after buying an additional 409,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Home Depot by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 7,554,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,925,498,000 after purchasing an additional 599,490 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HD opened at $362.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $359.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. 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 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $391.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $398.90.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on 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. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

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.