Davidson Trust Co. Purchases New Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Davidson Trust Co. acquired a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 583 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 3.7% during the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 88,444 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,725,000 after buying an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Wolf Group Capital Advisors boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 7,513 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,604,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $253,000. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 8.0% during the third quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 8,153 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,826,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $335.36 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $367.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $339.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho started coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush increased their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

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.