Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Raises Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 744.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,604 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,111 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.46.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE HD traded down $1.79 on Friday, hitting $325.10. 2,692,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,395,206. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.34. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $351.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.35.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.65 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 29th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

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.