The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 776,749 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 38,498 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $302,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $650,000. Second Half Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Second Half Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 495,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $192,756,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KGI Securities raised shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $357.62 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $363.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $392.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

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.