Smart Money Group LLC Buys 120 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Smart Money Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,165 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,730,889,000 after purchasing an additional 153,141 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after buying an additional 195,670 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after buying an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after buying an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Home Depot by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,904,000 after buying an additional 346,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $3.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $335.53. 3,131,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,339,346. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $363.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 2.68%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

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.