Legal & General Group Plc Buys 100,139 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,515,343 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,139 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 0.7% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.86% of Home Depot worth $2,931,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth about $38,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Daiwa America raised Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $375.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $426.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.88.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock opened at $396.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $401.11. The stock has a market cap of $393.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $367.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

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.