QV Investors Inc. Sells 200 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

QV Investors Inc. reduced its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,527 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Home Depot by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,117,016,000 after purchasing an additional 992,444 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,540,197,000 after buying an additional 347,614 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $4,311,070,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Home Depot by 1.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,889,000 after buying an additional 153,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after acquiring an additional 195,670 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HD. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.9 %

HD stock traded up $3.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $335.09. 2,465,262 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $364.77 and its 200 day moving average is $340.68. The firm has a market cap of $332.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, 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 is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.