Willis Investment Counsel Purchases 585 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Willis Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 2.5% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $37,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Home Depot by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 171,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $69,340,000 after acquiring an additional 16,650 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 202,002 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $81,851,000 after purchasing an additional 13,151 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 21.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,823 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851 shares during the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 52.1% during the third quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Anglin Financial LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 3.6% during the third quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 2,458 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.7 %

HD opened at $409.18 on Tuesday. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The company has a market cap of $406.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $407.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $392.76.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

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.