Capital Analysts LLC Cuts Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Capital Analysts LLC lowered its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth about $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 7.4% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 3.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $236,865,000 after purchasing an additional 24,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $334.83 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $369.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.05.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.