LM Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

LM Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,445 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $847,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $3.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $335.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,250,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,398,649. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $350.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The company had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.36%.

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.