WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. Invests $206,000 in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 595 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $332.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $329.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $367.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $338.97. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.