Webster Bank N. A. Acquires 203 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,663 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for about 0.8% of Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Home Depot by 36.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE grew its holdings in Home Depot by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE now owns 4,048 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $327,000. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter worth about $230,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.4 %

HD stock opened at $418.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $407.42 and a 200 day moving average of $391.36.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

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.