John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Makes New $230,000 Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 664 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 4,114 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,388 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,367 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 4,698 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $335.36 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $367.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.21. The company has a market capitalization of $332.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.