Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,221 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises about 1.4% of Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HD. Slow Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Kalos Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 68.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $328.97. The stock had a trading volume of 523,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,798,186. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $328.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.95. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.61 and a 52 week high of $347.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $323.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.12.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 15th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.20. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,424.89% and a net margin of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $42.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $2.09 per share. This represents a $8.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.22%.

Home Depot announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the home improvement retailer to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Home Depot from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Home Depot from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Home Depot from $327.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $338.59.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total transaction of $522,704.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,705,319.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total value of $522,704.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,705,319.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total transaction of $1,974,824.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,375,680.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,811 shares of company stock worth $6,441,376 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Home Depot

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer. 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.