Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares dropped 0.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $416.80 and last traded at $417.57. Approximately 445,279 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,092,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Gordon Haskett raised Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.3 %

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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $407.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $391.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.14%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 5,096 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,982,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,371 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,353,000. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 12,807 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,982,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.