Bill Few Associates Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,449 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 2.0% of Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 51,250.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,575,880,000 after buying an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $336,231,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after buying an additional 795,438 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 295.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 693,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $280,932,000 after purchasing an additional 518,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at about $159,365,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE HD opened at $414.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $411.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $407.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $389.64.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.81 EPS. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

About Home Depot

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.