First Western Trust Bank Sells 1,618 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

First Western Trust Bank reduced its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,933 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,618 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up 0.5% of First Western Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $9,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 299,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $92,958,000 after purchasing an additional 12,612 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 477.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,044,469 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $160,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,477 shares during the period. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 228.1% in the 2nd quarter. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. now owns 19,028 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,911,000 after purchasing an additional 13,229 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,142,814 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,677,000 after purchasing an additional 49,264 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 18,820 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,846,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. 68.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $307.43. 1,085,996 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,616,873. The firm has a market cap of $307.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.73. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $347.25.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.75 by $0.06. Home Depot had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 1,339.65%. The business had revenue of $37.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a $2.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 29th. This represents a $8.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.66%.

Home Depot declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the home improvement retailer to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $327.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $350.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total value of $1,974,824.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,749 shares in the company, valued at $7,375,680.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total value of $522,704.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,705,319.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total transaction of $1,974,824.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,749 shares in the company, valued at $7,375,680.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,186 shares of company stock worth $6,862,827 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Profile

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer. 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.