Verum Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Verum Partners LLC lessened its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 360 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on HD. Barclays upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.76.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HD traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $383.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,258,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,142,955. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $367.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $334.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

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.