Cullen Investment Group LTD. Boosts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,046 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 1.2% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 36.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Melius Research began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $392.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $405.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $386.65. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot 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.