Balentine LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,696 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Single Point Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $444,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,834,000. Peterson Wealth Services increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 14,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,678,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Finally, McBroom & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 17,190 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,687,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.85.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $416.39 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $413.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $405.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $394.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 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 business had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

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 2.16%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Home Depot Company 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.