Simplicity Solutions LLC Sells 2,051 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Simplicity Solutions LLC cut its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,835 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,051 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $14,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 3.7% during the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 88,444 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,725,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Wolf Group Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Home Depot by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 7,513 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel boosted its stake in Home Depot by 8.0% in the third quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Home Depot by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 8,153 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Zelman & Associates raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Home Depot Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE HD opened at $342.87 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $369.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.58. The company has a market capitalization of $339.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,339.65% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

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.