Bailard Inc. Purchases 2,654 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,496 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for 0.8% of Bailard Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $32,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 99,400.7% during the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 18,975,772 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,954,431,000 after purchasing an additional 18,956,701 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $5,032,910,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 39,194.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,236,903 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,517,230,000 after purchasing an additional 10,210,851 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,726,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $471,189,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of HD traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $359.32. 3,360,940 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,434,372. The company has a market cap of $357.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.00. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $366.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $374.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 242.51% and a net margin of 8.98%. Home Depot's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,413,285.76. The trade was a 23.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,130.14. This trade represents a 24.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price target on Home Depot and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Home Depot from $410.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Gordon Haskett raised their price target on Home Depot from $350.00 to $360.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $398.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, TD Securities cut Home Depot to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.77.

Home Depot Profile

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.