The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lessened its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,149 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 105,205.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,472,867,000 after purchasing an additional 10,984,516 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,703,690,000. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 30,994.4% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,413,234 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $241,323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,405,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth $563,524,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.76.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD traded down $1.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $383.91. 1,972,015 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,138,544. The firm has a market cap of $380.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $367.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $334.18.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business 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 firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 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 given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.