Balentine LLC Has $2.71 Million Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Balentine LLC increased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 153.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,690 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,049 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Summitry LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 9.2% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 8,952 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,310,031 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $39,834,241,000 after purchasing an additional 331,217 shares during the period. Providence Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter worth about $711,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 13.6% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HD. Evercore lowered their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $353.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $362.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, November 24th. KGI Securities cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $407.23.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $391.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $426.75. The company has a market cap of $389.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $366.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $380.21.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $41.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.06 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 62.71%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total value of $51,947.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,413,763.20. This trade represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total transaction of $1,000,949.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. This trade represents a 17.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 4,963 shares of company stock worth $1,748,845 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Profile

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and an integrated online platform offering a broad range of products and services for do-it-yourself consumers, professional contractors and businesses. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Since opening its first stores at the end of the 1970s, Home Depot has grown into a multinational retailer known for its orange-branded stores and wide assortment of home improvement merchandise.

Home Depot’s core business includes the sale of building materials, lumber, tools, hardware, appliances, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and garden products, and home décor.