The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank reduced its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,334 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HD. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 77,137,759 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $22,764,896,000 after purchasing an additional 878,220 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,135,000 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,635,031,000 after purchasing an additional 126,981 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,737,490 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,918,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698,402 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 6.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,718,744 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,638,916,000 after purchasing an additional 925,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 6.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,191,961 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,865,678,000 after purchasing an additional 756,274 shares during the last quarter. 68.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush upped their price target on Home Depot from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Home Depot from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Home Depot from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.62.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.3 %

HD opened at $317.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53. The firm has a market cap of $317.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.95. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.61 and a 52 week high of $347.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $325.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.38.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 15th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.20. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,424.89% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $42.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were paid a $2.09 dividend. This represents a $8.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 30th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 52.22%.

Home Depot declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the home improvement retailer to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total value of $522,704.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,705,319.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 12,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.40, for a total value of $3,943,848.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,770,144.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total value of $522,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,281 shares in the company, valued at $2,705,319.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,811 shares of company stock valued at $6,441,376. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

About Home Depot

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer. 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.