Montchanin Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 12,254 The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 12,254 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,701,000. Home Depot accounts for 4.6% of Montchanin Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after buying an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,540,197,000 after purchasing an additional 347,614 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $4,311,070,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after buying an additional 195,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Home Depot by 15.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,853,143,000 after acquiring an additional 971,833 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Down 2.7 %

HD stock traded down $9.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $358.38. 3,751,027 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,407,524. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $345.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.50. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a market cap of $355.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.65 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 60.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HD. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com cut Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.40.

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.