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

Wallington Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,506 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $6,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 51,250.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,575,880,000 after buying an additional 8,762,735 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at $336,231,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 295.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 693,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $280,932,000 after purchasing an additional 518,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $159,365,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $409.42 on Monday. 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 cap of $406.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.77 and a 1-year high of $439.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $406.51 and a 200-day moving average of $387.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.81 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Melius Research began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.