The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,999 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for approximately 1.9% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $6,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $361.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $356.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $354.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.98. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $375.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.79.

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.