Washburn Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Washburn Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,062 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 0.8% of Washburn Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Washburn Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Finley Financial LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $414.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $406.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $394.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

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.