Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Reduces Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lessened its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,345 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 8,058 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 0.9% of Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $11,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter worth $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Home Depot by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD traded down $5.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $413.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,384,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,203,897. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $407.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $391.78. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.81 earnings per share. Home Depot's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Home Depot's payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.