The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust reduced its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,386 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,562 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $14,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $335.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $332.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. 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 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $367.36 and a 200 day moving average of $339.21.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot 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 directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% 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.