AM Investment Strategies LLC Boosts Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,708 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,433 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 0.5% of AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 6.8% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 24,019 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Annandale Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 17,749 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,110,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at $159,365,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.1% in the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 47,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $16,338,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $414.53 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $411.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $407.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $390.53. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

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.