Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 53,685 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 3,355 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $20,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HD. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,758 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after buying an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after buying an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,291,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD opened at $349.39 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $396.03 and a 200 day moving average of $399.40. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The stock has a market cap of $347.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on HD. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

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.