Avior Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Avior Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,814 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 387 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Morgan Stanley increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Home Depot by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,889,000 after acquiring an additional 153,141 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 105,205.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,472,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,984,516 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,729,735 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,211,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,660 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of HD opened at $332.83 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $368.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $339.01. 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 capitalization of $329.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 59.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.