Diversified Portfolios Inc. Increases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Diversified Portfolios Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 799 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Diversified Portfolios Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HD shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays raised Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $417.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, 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. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 owned by insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD opened at $332.83 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $368.54 and a 200-day moving average of $339.01. The company has a market capitalization of $329.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

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.