Goodwin Investment Advisory Cuts Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Goodwin Investment Advisory reduced its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,180 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up 0.2% of Goodwin Investment Advisory’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Goodwin Investment Advisory’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Home Depot by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,737,490 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,918,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698,402 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,730,889,000 after acquiring an additional 153,141 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 105,205.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 10,984,516 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Home Depot by 14.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,729,735 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,211,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HD. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $332.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.97. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.26 and a 1 year high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 2.70%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

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.