Morse Asset Management Inc Increases Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 12.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,497 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,493 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 2.7% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $12,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Home Depot during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HD. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $421.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $411.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $376.78. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

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.