First Command Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,701 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD opened at $335.36 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $332.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Company 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.