Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 2,003 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,836 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,003 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.6% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth $27,000. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter valued at $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 7.4% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,379,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 3.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $236,865,000 after buying an additional 24,640 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.9 %

Home Depot stock opened at $334.83 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a market capitalization of $331.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $369.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 2.69%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded 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 note on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

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.