The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Bought by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,006 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Home Depot by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,540,197,000 after buying an additional 347,614 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,347,396 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,889,000 after purchasing an additional 153,141 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after purchasing an additional 195,670 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $1.86 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $338.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,710,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,338,147. The company has a market capitalization of $335.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $360.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $343.54. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week 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.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $417.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.19.

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.