Simplicity Wealth LLC Takes $753,000 Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,173 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Home Depot during the first quarter worth $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the first quarter worth $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 period. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.35.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $342.87 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $369.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $338.58. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,339.65% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

Home Depot 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.