The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stock Position Lessened by LS Investment Advisors LLC

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,815 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,599 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for 3.2% of LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $20,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,251,142,000 after purchasing an additional 875,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,845,098,000 after buying an additional 647,552 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $3.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $368.97. 2,320,479 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,412,010. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $361.54 and a 200 day moving average of $385.28. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.93 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,367 shares in the company, valued at $6,413,285.76. This represents a 23.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value 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. The trade was a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on Home Depot from $350.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Home Depot from $470.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.77.

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.