Asset Dedication LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Asset Dedication LLC lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,235 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,635 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in Home Depot by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Home Depot by 17.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $5,291,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $1,793,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HD. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $451.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:HD traded down $2.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $411.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,761,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,175,677. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $408.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $392.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $409.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.81 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot's payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % 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 Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.