Washington Trust Bank Increases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,470 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 1.5% of Washington Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $16,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after buying an additional 5,525,791 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after buying an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after purchasing an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,769,610 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $613,258,000 after buying an additional 495,894 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on HD. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. HSBC cut their target price on Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE HD traded up $3.20 on Tuesday, hitting $335.76. 3,250,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,398,649. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $338.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The company has a market cap of $332.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The firm had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.36%.

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.