Ballast Inc. Has $1.62 Million Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ballast Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,677 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 361 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.6% of Ballast Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 24,261 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,407,000 after buying an additional 4,250 shares during the period. Parker Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Parker Financial LLC now owns 755 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $1,902,000. Successful Portfolios LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 7,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded down $2.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $383.57. 4,108,220 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,174,438. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $368.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $334.54.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HD. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Home Depot from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Home Depot from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by 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.