Optas LLC Purchases 246 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,322 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,767,449,000 after buying an additional 433,126 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $3,819,679,000 after buying an additional 205,954 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 8,762,735 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after buying 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 shares of 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 acquiring an additional 409,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value 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 $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $411.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $407.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $393.07.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

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.