Brown Advisory Inc. Trims Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Brown Advisory Inc. cut its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 318,867 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 3,551 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $116,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Home Depot by 6.2% in the first quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 2,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in Home Depot by 0.7% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 19,034 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,976,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Home Depot by 7.9% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,257 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 12.8% in the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 66,523 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $24,380,000 after acquiring an additional 7,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors grew its position in Home Depot by 2.5% in the first quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 65,956 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $24,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.1%

HD opened at $367.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $365.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $375.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $326.31 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $365.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 62.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $420.00 price target on shares of Home Depot and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $470.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Home Depot to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. The trade was a 23.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,130.14. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.