Community Trust & Investment Co. Acquires 3,227 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,718 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,227 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,515,343 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,931,328,000 after buying an additional 100,139 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 15.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,853,143,000 after purchasing an additional 971,833 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Home Depot by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,774,083 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,980,883,000 after acquiring an additional 138,396 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 13.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,917,286 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,886,271,000 after purchasing an additional 569,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,643,176 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,598,316,000 after purchasing an additional 333,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Daiwa America raised shares of Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $410.67.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $399.64 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.26 and a 1 year high of $421.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $388.23 and its 200 day moving average is $359.43. The company has a market cap of $396.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $43.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 60.36%.

About Home Depot

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.