Leavell Investment Management Inc. Acquires 88 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 47,308 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 0.9% of Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $18,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE HD opened at $407.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a market capitalization of $404.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $405.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $395.38.

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 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 company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.81 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot 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 directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on HD. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Telsey Advisory Group raised Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.85.

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.