Walker Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Walker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,208 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up 0.8% of Walker Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Walker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,121,000 after buying an additional 6,163 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 76,914 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,477,000 after buying an additional 7,702 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Home Depot by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 239,055 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $82,293,000 after purchasing an additional 9,131 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,003,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $409.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $406.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $387.45. The stock has a market cap of $406.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.05.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.81 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Loop Capital raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

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.