Smart Money Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Smart Money Group LLC raised its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HD. Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,097,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price 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 raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.1 %

HD stock traded up $3.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $335.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,131,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,339,346. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $363.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.81. The company has a market capitalization of $332.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

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.