The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Beech Hill Advisors Inc.

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,012 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 1.6% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after purchasing an additional 992,444 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,769,610 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $613,258,000 after buying an additional 495,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.46.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE HD traded down $12.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $338.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,879,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,447,634. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $337.91 and a 200 day moving average of $352.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.00. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.36%.

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.