Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Invests $1.90 Million in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,489 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,000. Home Depot makes up about 1.2% of Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Successful Portfolios LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 7,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $362,000. Well Done LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 123,767 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $42,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on HD shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective for the company. HSBC lowered shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $323.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.76.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $383.60. The company had a trading volume of 4,047,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,174,398. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $368.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $334.54. The company has a market capitalization of $380.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Home Depot 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.