Washington Trust Bank Sells 1,994 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Washington Trust Bank lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,122 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,994 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 1.6% of Washington Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $17,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD stock opened at $352.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $349.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $393.97 and a 200-day moving average of $398.66. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

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.