Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Buys New Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 882 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HD. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 30,239 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $10,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV increased its stake in Home Depot by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 4,494 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 16,201 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,614,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,137,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,754 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $3.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $335.01. 2,464,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,354,161. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $364.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. 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. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Mizuho initiated 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 for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Wedbush increased their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.