Diversified Portfolios Inc. Increases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Diversified Portfolios Inc. increased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 799 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,472,867,000 after buying an additional 10,984,516 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth 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. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 30,994.4% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,413,234 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $241,323,000 after buying an additional 2,405,473 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter valued at about $563,524,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HD. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $332.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $329.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $368.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $339.01. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, 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.

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.