Key Financial Inc Grows Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Key Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,420 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the quarter. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $332.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $329.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.26 and a 1 year high of $396.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $368.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $339.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

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 shares were 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 owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Corporate 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.