Northstar Advisory Group LLC Boosts Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,490 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 779 shares during the quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $382.97 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $367.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $334.18. The stock has a market cap of $379.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. 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 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.76.

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.