Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 651 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,577 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 651 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $1,681,000. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,690,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Home Depot by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 56,601 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $22,042,000 after acquiring an additional 15,209 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Home Depot by 125.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 1,614 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,671,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on HD. KGI Securities raised shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $364.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $362.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $388.06 and its 200 day moving average is $398.84.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Home Depot’s dividend 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.