Centre Asset Management LLC Increases Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Centre Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,669 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 3,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. M Holdings Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortune 45 LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Fortune 45 LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 885 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,272 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 68.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 22,749 shares in the company, valued at $7,375,680.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 22,749 shares in the company, valued at $7,375,680.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 12,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,811 shares of company stock worth $6,441,376 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of several research reports. TheStreet raised shares of Home Depot from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $314.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. 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, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.62.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD opened at $321.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53. The company has a market cap of $321.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.95. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.61 and a 52-week high of $347.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $325.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.05.

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

Home Depot announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the home improvement retailer to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were given a $2.09 dividend. This represents a $8.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.22%.

About Home Depot

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.