West Paces Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

West Paces Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,534 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for about 1.3% of West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $332.83 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.01. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $34.79 billion during 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%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 value of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HD shares. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $311.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.