The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stock Position Lifted by Investors Research Corp

Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,032 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HD. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ergoteles LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $236,865,000 after purchasing an additional 24,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $334.83 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $369.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. 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.