Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. decreased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,889 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 57 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises approximately 1.6% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 9,168 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 2,468 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 21,907 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,592,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 19,275 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,680,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gimbal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $400,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $3.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $339.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,937,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,328,468. 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 $336.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $366.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $340.19.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate 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 paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HD. 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 research report on Monday, February 26th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.