Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,278 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,472,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,984,516 shares during the period. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth approximately $7,703,690,000. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 30,994.4% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,413,234 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $241,323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,405,473 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth approximately $563,524,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $363.00 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87. The stock has a market cap of $359.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $369.63 and a 200 day moving average of $335.67.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,339.65%. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.35.

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.