Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,977 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 15,703 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for approximately 0.4% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $26,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HD. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the third quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of HD stock traded up $3.24 on Tuesday, hitting $339.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,409,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,322,049. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The firm has a market cap of $336.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.23 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $366.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $340.19.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders 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 is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 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.