The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Purchased by Cannell & Co.

Cannell & Co. boosted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,545 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $31,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter worth $64,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, 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 completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HD. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD traded down $3.03 on Wednesday, reaching $331.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 785,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,311,238. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. 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 cap of $328.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $363.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.88.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS 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 $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

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.