The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Acquired by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,667 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,458 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $9,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc raised its stake in Home Depot by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,879 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in Home Depot by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Home Depot by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $409.42 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $406.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $406.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $387.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

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.