Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 560,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 111,392 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Home Depot worth $194,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% in 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC raised 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 acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $563,524,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Price Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $342.87 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.08. The stock has a market cap of $339.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Home Depot

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.