The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,967 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 3,843 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 3.2% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $64,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stolper Co raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Stolper Co now owns 12,851 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,930,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $96,000. Woodstock Corp raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 59,613 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $22,868,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 4,978 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 114,146 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $43,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 target price on the stock. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HD traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $353.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,401,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,382,621. The firm has a market cap of $350.13 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.36%.

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.