Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 0.7%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $326.90 and last traded at $330.63. Approximately 950,396 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,329,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $329.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $365.90 and its 200 day moving average is $340.46.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $2.25 per share. 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 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after buying an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after acquiring an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% 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.