The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 441,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 6,921 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up approximately 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $153,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in 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 worth $3,730,889,000 after purchasing an additional 153,141 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,904,000 after acquiring an additional 346,641 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,483,454 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $750,448,000 after acquiring an additional 17,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $3.11 on Friday, hitting $335.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,465,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $364.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.97. The company has a market capitalization of $332.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $417.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.