Blue Chip Partners LLC Purchases 981 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,440 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises 2.6% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $24,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $3.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $335.09. 2,465,262 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The business has a fifty day moving average of $364.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $341.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The company has a market capitalization of $332.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

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.