Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Takes Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,498 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $8,363,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 10.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,471,223 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $596,140,000 after purchasing an additional 141,915 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in Home Depot by 12.9% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 30,497 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $12,357,000 after buying an additional 3,493 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,710 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,719,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter valued at $1,027,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $8.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $354.85. The stock had a trading volume of 3,231,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,470,132. The company has a market capitalization of $352.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $370.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $394.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.