Access Financial Services Inc. Buys 74 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Access Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,875 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HD. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD stock opened at $383.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.99. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $368.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $334.54.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Piper Sandler upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.76.

Insider Activity

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

Home Depot 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.