The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,836 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,003 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for 0.6% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its position in Home Depot by 3.7% in the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 88,444 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,725,000 after acquiring an additional 3,162 shares in the last quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 7,513 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 8,153 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

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

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. 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 related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

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.