Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 565 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Finley Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the business’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 owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $411.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $407.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $393.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Loop Capital raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

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.