New World Advisors LLC Sells 524 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

New World Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,812 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 524 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for 0.2% of New World Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. New World Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HD. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Home Depot during the first quarter worth $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Ergoteles LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Home Depot by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Home Depot by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $236,865,000 after purchasing an additional 24,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $342.87 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $369.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.32. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The stock has a market cap of $339.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush upped their price target on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.35.

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.