The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stake Increased by Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC

Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC grew its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,531 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of HD opened at $334.83 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $369.14 and its 200-day moving average is $339.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Company 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.