The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Bought by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. grew its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,281 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Slow Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Kalos Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.34% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.1 %

HD stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $328.90. The stock had a trading volume of 483,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,797,924. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.61 and a 1-year high of $347.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $323.64 and a 200 day moving average of $304.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.95.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 15th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $42.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,424.89% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the home improvement retailer to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $8.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 52.22%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total transaction of $1,974,824.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,375,680.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total value of $522,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,705,319.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total value of $1,974,824.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,375,680.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,811 shares of company stock worth $6,441,376 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on HD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Home Depot from $321.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Home Depot from $370.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Home Depot from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Home Depot from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Home Depot from $310.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $338.59.

Home Depot Profile

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer. 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.