Highland Capital Management LLC Has $7.77 Million Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,425 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 571 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,740,875,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,472,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,984,516 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth approximately $7,703,690,000. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 30,994.4% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,413,234 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $241,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405,473 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at $563,524,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD traded up $5.41 on Wednesday, hitting $385.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 488,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,124,747. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $367.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The firm has a market cap of $381.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.99.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $311.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.76.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.