Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Takes Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,411 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $938,000. Home Depot accounts for about 0.9% of Northstar Financial Companies Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Home Depot by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 875,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% in the fourth 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 in the fourth quarter worth $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Home Depot by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,845,098,000 after purchasing an additional 647,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Home Depot by 13.3% in 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 in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,951 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $367.85. 4,110,311 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,424,960. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.93 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $360.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $385.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $470.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $398.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.77.

Home Depot Company 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.