107,182 Shares in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Purchased by Madison Investment Advisors LLC

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 107,182 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $41,693,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% during the third quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $364.82 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $399.01 and its 200 day moving average is $399.78. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $362.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.