Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,677 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 1.7% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $10,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.7% in the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% in the 3rd 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, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,962 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Home Depot in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $405.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $405.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.65. The company has a market cap of $403.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

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.