BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 398,261 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 34.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 774,386 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 398,261 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 0.8% of BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $313,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 3.7% in the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 0.7% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.1% in the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 2,494 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.2% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,372 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 3.4% in the second quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 845 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $399.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $302.34 and a 52 week high of $421.56. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $401.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.01.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer increased 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

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.