Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,595 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 11,025 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $26,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Home Depot in the first quarter worth about $27,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE HD opened at $334.83 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $331.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $369.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $339.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. 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 payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, 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 business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HD shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Home Depot from $386.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer cut Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Zelman & Associates raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

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.