Insider Selling: The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) EVP Sells $19,332,841.44 in Stock

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $330.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $352.48 and a 200-day moving average of $347.49. The company has a market cap of $327.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The business had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after buying an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Home Depot during the first quarter worth $513,016,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after buying an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Home Depot by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after acquiring an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC reduced their target price on Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.46.

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.