Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 813 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,670 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 813 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $6,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HD. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.4 %

HD stock opened at $337.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $369.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.82. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The stock has a market cap of $334.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,339.65%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.35.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.