Advantage Trust Co Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in Home Depot by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 88,444 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,725,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares in the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp increased its stake in Home Depot by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 15,574 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors raised its stake in Home Depot by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 7,513 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of HD traded up $8.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $347.44. 3,430,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,347,865. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $359.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $343.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The company has a market cap of $344.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its 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. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Piper Sandler raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.19.

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.