Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,969 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,786 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,969 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 1.9% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $15,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,767,449,000 after acquiring an additional 433,126 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 2.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,819,679,000 after purchasing an additional 205,954 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 51,250.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,253,952,000 after buying an additional 409,890 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $413.46 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm has a market cap of $410.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $407.66 and a 200-day moving average of $391.78.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.