Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,809 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $26,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.3% during 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 raised its stake in Home Depot by 4.3% during 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. raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.5% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.19.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. 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 the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $1.39 on Tuesday, hitting $340.90. 1,737,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,331,074. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $361.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $343.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The company has a market cap of $337.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. 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 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

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.