ICW Investment Advisors LLC Buys 55 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,361 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 1.8% of ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth about $207,210,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,468,902 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $746,003,000 after purchasing an additional 421,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,904,000 after purchasing an additional 346,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded down $3.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $331.20. 922,043 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,313,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $328.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $341.88. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. 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.