Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 719 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Key Points

• Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. by 7.1%, selling 719 shares and bringing its total holdings to 9,452 shares valued at approximately $3.46 million.
• Insider selling activity is notable, with EVP Fahim Siddiqui and EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough selling a combined total of over $2.95 million worth of shares recently.
• The Home Depot reported Q1 earnings of $3.56 per share, missing estimates, but its revenue of $39.86 billion surpassed expectations, highlighting a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.4%.

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,452 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 719 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wills Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $619,000. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 52.8% in the first quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 2,139 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Bravias Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.0% during the first quarter. Bravias Capital Group LLC now owns 654 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.9% in the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 8,291 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Probity Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 6.6% in the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 3,086 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 17,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. This represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $380.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $379.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $326.31 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $366.19 and a 200 day moving average of $372.71.

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 business 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 242.51% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors 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 2.4%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is 62.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HD shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities downgraded shares of Home Depot to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.77.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.