The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stake Raised by Morse Asset Management Inc

Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,636 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 2.3% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $9,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $634,000. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 32,321 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $11,201,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HD. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE HD traded up $6.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $359.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,439,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,136,010. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $343.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.27. The firm has a market cap of $356.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio 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.