Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,214 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 152 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises about 1.1% of Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HD. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 31,383 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $12,208,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 3,110 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $32,202,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,809 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,099,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 36,033 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $14,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,770 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HD stock opened at $418.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $416.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $407.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $391.36. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Gordon Haskett raised Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

About Home Depot

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.