South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,010 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’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 value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of 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 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $332.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $329.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $365.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $340.46.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HD. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $311.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $417.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

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.