The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stock Position Increased by GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. lifted its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1,232.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,753 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 181,990 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises 4.5% of GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $68,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP raised its position in Home Depot by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 71,279 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $24,702,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,611 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $342.85 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $361.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.08. The company has a market capitalization of $339.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

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.