Krane Funds Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $596,140,000 after buying an additional 141,915 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 4.2% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,458 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,806,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Home Depot by 12.9% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 30,497 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,357,000 after buying an additional 3,493 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 22.1% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 607 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mosaic Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth about $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $353.78 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $384.89 and a 200 day moving average of $398.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

About Home Depot

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.