Howland Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,013 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Home Depot by 14.5%, acquiring an additional 1,013 shares to bring its total to 8,018 shares valued at approximately $2.94 million.
• Executive Vice Presidents Teresa Wynn Roseborough and Fahim Siddiqui sold 5,406 and 2,600 shares of Home Depot stock respectively, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership.
• Home Depot's latest quarterly earnings revealed a missed earnings estimate with a reported $3.56 EPS, which was below the anticipated $3.59, despite a 9.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,018 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.6% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth approximately $352,000. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% in the first quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 3,901 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Ackerman Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, Pasadena Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.1% in the first quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 768 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. This represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,130.14. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HD. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Home Depot to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.77.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.2%

Home Depot stock opened at $367.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $365.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $373.53. The company has a market cap of $365.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.31 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37.

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). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. 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.

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