Financial Perspectives Inc Lowers Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Financial Perspectives Inc lowered its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,770 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:HD traded down $6.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $332.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,956,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,332,910. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.26 and a 1 year high of $396.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $366.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $340.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $329.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on HD. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

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.