Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 35.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,094 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,231 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for 0.7% of Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $20,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Optas LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.19.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD stock traded down $1.58 on Tuesday, hitting $340.71. 2,930,173 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,345,272. The company has a 50 day moving average of $361.16 and a 200 day moving average of $343.16. The stock has a market cap of $337.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.