Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 1% Following Insider Selling

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s stock price traded down 1% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $400.54 and last traded at $402.63. 592,078 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,368,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $406.80.

Specifically, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HD. Daiwa America raised shares of Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Melius Research started coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $402.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $368.30. The company has a market capitalization of $407.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Home Depot by 0.7% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 2.0% in the third quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its stake in Home Depot by 1.1% in the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 2,494 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,372 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.