Northern Financial Advisors Inc Purchases 223 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,436 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 1.0% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Family Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Family Asset Management LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Home Depot by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,270 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,340 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,094 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $20,132,000 after acquiring an additional 15,231 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 31,930 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $11,066,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $392,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.4 %

HD traded down $1.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $339.41. 750,761 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,315,352. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87. The stock has a market cap of $336.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $360.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $343.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted 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. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HD. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.19.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.