The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Purchased by Center for Financial Planning Inc.

Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.3% of Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 0.8% in the third quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.3 %

HD opened at $342.87 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The firm has a market cap of $339.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $369.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $338.58.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 target price for the company. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.35.

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.