Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 1.8%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s stock price shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $346.88 and last traded at $341.71. 1,679,176 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 3,319,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $342.08. The company has a market capitalization of $339.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted 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. 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the 4th 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,117,016,000 after buying an additional 992,444 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.