Forsta AP Fonden Sells 6,800 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 272,900 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 0.8% of Forsta AP Fonden’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $106,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,981 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,911,000 after buying an additional 15,167 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 709,443 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $275,966,000 after acquiring an additional 52,155 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,703 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 2,648 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HD. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HD stock opened at $414.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm has a market cap of $411.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $407.93 and a 200-day moving average of $391.93. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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