Morse Asset Management Inc Purchases 3,493 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 12.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,497 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,493 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for about 2.7% of Morse Asset Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc's holdings in Home Depot were worth $12,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded down $6.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $414.45. 3,672,002 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,374,974. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $411.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $377.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $411.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Home Depot's payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Home Depot from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Home Depot to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.00.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.