North Star Investment Management Corp. Trims Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

North Star Investment Management Corp. lowered its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,599 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 722 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HD. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $398.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.77.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $2.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $346.41. 4,417,443 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,420,146. The company has a market cap of $344.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.02. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.31 and a 1-year high of $439.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $363.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $381.43.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a return on equity of 242.51% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot's payout ratio is 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. This trade represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.10% 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.