Safeguard Financial LLC Sells 248 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Safeguard Financial LLC cut its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 852 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 248 shares during the quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Home Depot by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 111.3% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 150 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $405.99 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $405.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $386.65. The stock has a market cap of $403.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 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 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. DA Davidson raised 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. Mizuho increased their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.