Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,632 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,917 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $22,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HD. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $433.44.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value 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. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $409.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $404.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $395.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.