St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Boosts Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,814 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for 0.9% of St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 36.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $414.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $411.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $407.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $390.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.