The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,149 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth about $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Home Depot during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,379,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $236,865,000 after purchasing an additional 24,640 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.76.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $383.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,972,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,138,544. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $367.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $334.18. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $380.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

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.