Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 1,136 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 65.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 588 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,136 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HD. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $335.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $364.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.68. The firm has a market cap of $332.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

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.