Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Grows Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,955 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,795 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Home Depot were worth $84,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 106,187 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $41,306,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Home Depot by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,375,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 30,215 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $11,753,000 after acquiring an additional 3,984 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 62,962 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $24,492,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:HD traded up $4.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $414.46. 2,671,235 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,220,472. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $411.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $406.83 and a 200 day moving average of $389.47. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month 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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.14%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Home Depot from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.00.

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.