Unified Investment Management Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,431 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $946,000. Home Depot makes up 1.1% of Unified Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bravias Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $257,000. Kelly Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $272,000. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,992 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,493,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Partners LTD. boosted its stake in Home Depot by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 4,400 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $382.52. 544,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,246,554. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The company has a market cap of $379.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $401.00 and its 200 day moving average is $399.71.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot's payout ratio is 61.66%.

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.