KLCM Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

KLCM Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,243 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at about $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at about $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.4% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,379,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 3.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $236,865,000 after buying an additional 24,640 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $332.83 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $368.54 and a 200 day moving average of $339.01. 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 company has a market capitalization of $329.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

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.