Tufton Capital Management Sells 248 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Tufton Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 248 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $332.89 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $367.92 and its 200 day moving average is $338.97. The stock has a market cap of $329.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced 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. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. 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 2.70%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $311.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $417.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

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.