Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Lowers Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,762 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 2,137 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Financial Insights Inc. grew its holdings in Home Depot by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC now owns 623 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $370.15 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $366.14 and its 200-day moving average is $375.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The company has a market capitalization of $368.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Home Depot to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $470.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $400.00 target price on Home Depot and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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