The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. lessened its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 9.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,648 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $5,032,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 21,394.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $793,486,000 after buying an additional 2,030,372 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Home Depot by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $471,189,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $368.08 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.93 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $360.78 and a 200-day moving average of $386.29. The firm has a market cap of $365.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 62.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,413,285.76. This represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,919,130.14. This trade represents a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.