First Interstate Bank Sells 241 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

First Interstate Bank trimmed its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,382 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Home Depot by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,737,490 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,918,425,000 after buying an additional 1,698,402 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,889,000 after acquiring an additional 153,141 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 10,984,516 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Home Depot by 14.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,729,735 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,211,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,660 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:HD opened at $332.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $368.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.01. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot 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.