Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 80 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,194 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after buying an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth about $207,210,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Home Depot by 20.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,468,902 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $746,003,000 after acquiring an additional 421,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Home Depot by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,032,904,000 after acquiring an additional 346,641 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on HD. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 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 dated 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 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 company insiders.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $334.23 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.88. The stock has a market cap of $331.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio 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.