New England Research & Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 632 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $384.00.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.1 %

Home Depot stock traded up $3.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $353.73. 2,830,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,408,902. The business has a fifty day moving average of $346.68 and a 200 day moving average of $353.39. 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 firm has a market cap of $350.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. The company had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.