Valmark Advisers Inc. Grows Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,179 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,974 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $814,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 2,677 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot 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 approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $417.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.9 %

Home Depot stock traded up $3.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $335.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,465,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The stock has a market cap of $332.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $364.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $340.68.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

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.