PFG Advisors Acquires 1,270 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

PFG Advisors raised its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,556 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,472,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,984,516 shares during the period. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,703,690,000. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 30,994.4% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,413,234 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $241,323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,405,473 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $563,524,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HD. TD Cowen upped their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Home Depot from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.76.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD stock opened at $383.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.99. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $369.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $335.33.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $3,317,185.04. Following 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. Insiders own 0.19% 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.