The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Acquired by ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 59.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,211 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,152 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises about 1.8% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $12,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HD. Optas LLC lifted 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 raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the third quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:HD traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $342.85. 4,165,054 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,606,830. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $361.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.08. The company has a market cap of $339.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business 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 firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HD. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.