Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Up 0.2%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $345.54 and last traded at $342.97. Approximately 610,161 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,316,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.19.

Home Depot Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $337.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $361.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $343.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at $513,016,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Home Depot by 7.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% 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.