The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stock Position Decreased by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council cut its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Optas LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,097,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of HD opened at $332.89 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $365.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $340.46. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The company has a market cap of $329.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Zelman & Associates raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Company 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.