Ballast Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ballast Inc. lifted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,677 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises about 0.6% of Ballast Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,472,867,000 after buying an additional 10,984,516 shares during the period. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth about $7,703,690,000. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 30,994.4% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,413,234 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $241,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405,473 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $563,524,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Home Depot from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.76.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $2.32 on Thursday, reaching $383.57. The company had a trading volume of 4,108,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,174,438. The firm has a market cap of $380.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $368.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $334.54. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

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.