Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. Boosts Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,981 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 687 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for 0.2% of Fundsmith Investment Services LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $12,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 3,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Home Depot by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. now owns 9,993 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortune 45 LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Fortune 45 LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc increased its position in Home Depot by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 885 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% during the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,272 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.34% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $328.71. 2,211,132 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,919,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.31. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.61 and a twelve month high of $347.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $328.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $324.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.26.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 15th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $42.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.05 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

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

Home Depot declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the home improvement retailer to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Home Depot from $330.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 12,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.40, for a total transaction of $3,943,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 73,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,770,144.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 12,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.40, for a total value of $3,943,848.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,770,144.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $1,974,824.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,811 shares of company stock worth $6,441,376. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot Company 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.