Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 4,577 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 52,715 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 4,577 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $21,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 68.0% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 126 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE HD opened at $395.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $392.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $286.79 and a 12 month high of $421.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $392.94 and a 200-day moving average of $362.47.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. Melius Research assumed coverage on Home Depot in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.48.

Home Depot Company 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.