Foster Group Inc. Acquires 968 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Foster Group Inc. lifted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,703 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Home Depot by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 19,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,873,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,450,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth $1,382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Home Depot Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:HD opened at $414.56 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $407.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $391.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a market cap of $411.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on HD. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

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.