World Investment Advisors LLC Has $32.42 Million Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 546.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,011 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 67,635 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $32,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HD. Bank of America increased their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $431.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $409.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $374.14. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.03.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Home Depot 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.