Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,389 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HD. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 563 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 110.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,537 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,918 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $10,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:HD opened at $367.45 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.93 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $384.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a market capitalization of $365.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.02.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,413,285.76. This trade represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. This trade represents a 24.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $398.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.77.

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.