Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,475 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,802 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $6,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 111.3% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $451.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $409.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,194,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,543,379. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company's fifty day moving average is $406.51 and its 200-day moving average is $388.20. The company has a market capitalization of $406.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

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.