Heartland Bank & Trust Co Boosts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,702 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 0.9% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HD. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the first quarter worth $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth $28,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Home Depot from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $323.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.35.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 available through this link. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $357.65 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $354.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.98. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $370.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $336.28.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 2.52%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

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.