LM Advisors LLC Has $1.98 Million Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

LM Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 111.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,095 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,845,098,000 after purchasing an additional 647,552 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,726,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $367.85. 4,110,311 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,433,492. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.93 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $360.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $386.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Home Depot's payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HD. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Gordon Haskett increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $350.00 to $360.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.