Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Has $488,000 Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,409 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HD. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.7 %

HD stock opened at $335.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $367.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.21.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.