Aviance Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $342.28. 3,366,053 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,350,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $339.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $361.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $343.16. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.26 and a 1 year high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 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 business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $2.25 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $417.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Zelman & Associates raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho began coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

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.