Atom Investors LP Invests $2.25 Million in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,543 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,246,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,819,679,000 after buying an additional 205,954 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 51,250.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,515,343 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,931,328,000 after purchasing an additional 100,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,253,952,000 after purchasing an additional 409,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.5 %

HD stock opened at $427.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $407.48 and a 200-day moving average of $372.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $318.96 and a one year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.