Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,610 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,620 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 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 during the period. Finally, Finley Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD opened at $411.86 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $408.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $392.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Home Depot 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.

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