Valmark Advisers Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,179 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 197 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’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 value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $3.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $335.09. 2,465,262 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $364.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.68.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Company 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.