Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Down 0.3% - Here's Why

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $416.80 and last traded at $417.57. 445,279 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,092,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HD. Bank of America raised their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital raised Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The firm 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $407.86 and a 200-day moving average of $392.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related 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 transaction of $40,258.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction 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 approximately $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter valued at 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. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter worth $46,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.