Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Up 1.8%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $346.88 and last traded at $341.71. Approximately 1,679,176 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 3,319,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $361.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $342.08. The company has a market cap of $339.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 992,444 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,540,197,000 after purchasing an additional 347,614 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $4,311,070,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,730,889,000 after buying an additional 153,141 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,050,363,000 after acquiring an additional 195,670 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.