Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,646 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 702 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up about 2.8% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HD. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 6.4% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 217.2% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,588,000 after purchasing an additional 8,571 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 13,328 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,884,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 27,932 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 1,363 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on HD shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price target on shares of Home Depot and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.77.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,919,130.14. This trade represents a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. The trade was a 23.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 2.1%

HD traded down $7.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $360.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,789,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,413,105. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $361.75 and its 200-day moving average is $383.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

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.