Ninety One UK Ltd Invests $8.24 Million in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 23,774 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,239,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on HD. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $311.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock opened at $332.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $367.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.97. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $396.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

Home Depot Company 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.