Howland Capital Management LLC Has $2.73 Million Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Howland Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Finley Financial LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $407.39 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $406.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $394.24. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $404.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their target price on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.