Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,940 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,383 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,767,449,000 after purchasing an additional 433,126 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,819,679,000 after purchasing an additional 205,954 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 51,250.1% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 8,762,735 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% during the third 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,253,952,000 after purchasing an additional 409,890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.3 %

Home Depot stock opened at $413.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $407.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $391.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G 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. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $459.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

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.