Independence Bank of Kentucky Boosts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,388 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after acquiring an additional 992,444 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,769,610 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $613,258,000 after purchasing an additional 495,894 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com cut Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 25th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.42.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $344.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,344,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,389. The business has a fifty day moving average of $338.51 and a 200 day moving average of $352.60. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The company has a market capitalization of $341.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.