Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Sells 2,383 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC cut its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 55.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,940 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,383 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $414.56. 3,080,676 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,197,444. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $411.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $407.93 and a 200-day moving average of $391.93.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. 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 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Home Depot from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.00.

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.