Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Down 0.7%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HD. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Price 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 stock has a market capitalization of $329.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $365.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $340.46.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Home Depot by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,117,016,000 after buying an additional 992,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at about $207,210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

About Home Depot

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.