Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Purchases New Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,715 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,056,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $5,032,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 21,394.9% in 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 buying an additional 2,030,372 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% during the fourth 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. grew its position in Home Depot by 559.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 875,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HD. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $434.08.

Home Depot Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $6.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $353.68. 597,056 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,461,651. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $368.09 and its 200-day moving average is $393.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Home Depot's payout ratio is 61.66%.

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.