First Horizon Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,973 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,875 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up approximately 0.9% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $27,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Coombe Bender & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its stake in Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,044 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after buying an additional 195,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,049,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Home Depot stock traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $333.13. 971,816 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,313,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $363.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its 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. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HD. Citigroup boosted their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.