Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,671 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,834,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,767,449,000 after buying an additional 433,126 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,819,679,000 after acquiring an additional 205,954 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 51,250.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 10.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 5.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,253,952,000 after purchasing an additional 409,890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE HD opened at $416.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $405.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $394.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.85.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.