Horizon Investment Services LLC Buys Shares of 635 The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Horizon Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 635 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.8% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,471,223 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $596,140,000 after acquiring an additional 141,915 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,458 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth $649,000. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 57.4% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 930 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $357.86 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $389.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $398.60. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $355.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HD shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.85.

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.