New Vernon Investment Management LLC Has $23.05 Million Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

New Vernon Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 2,270.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,267 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 56,767 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up 13.9% of New Vernon Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $23,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,032,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 21,394.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $793,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030,372 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $37,251,142,000 after buying an additional 875,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Home Depot by 559.5% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,032,082 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $387,706,000 after buying an additional 875,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $2.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $359.47. 1,149,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,452,005. The business's 50-day moving average price is $363.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $391.72. The company has a market capitalization of $357.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot's payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $434.08.

Home Depot 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.