Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Sells 43,227 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 882,683 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 43,227 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 5.3% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.09% of Home Depot worth $323,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,918 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $10,471,000 after acquiring an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Home Depot by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 12,204 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $1,056,000. Alexis Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $1,311,000. Finally, Belmont Capital LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Belmont Capital LLC now owns 37,894 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $14,741,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of HD opened at $399.29 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 62.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. The trade was a 23.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities cut shares of Home Depot to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $470.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Gordon Haskett upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $350.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $398.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $427.48.

Home Depot 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.