Augustine Asset Management Inc. Has $383,000 Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 984 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group raised Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.85.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $416.39 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $405.88 and its 200 day moving average is $394.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The stock has a market cap of $413.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, 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 value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. 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.