Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,632 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,917 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $22,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HD. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $409.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $406.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $404.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $395.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. 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 results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.81 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $433.44.

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.