Nicholas Company Inc. Sells 10,902 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Nicholas Company Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 239,618 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 10,902 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up about 1.5% of Nicholas Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $93,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HD. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its position in Home Depot by 17.8% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its position in Home Depot by 17.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after acquiring an additional 132,967 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,471,223 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $596,140,000 after buying an additional 141,915 shares during the period. United Bank increased its holdings in Home Depot by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,458 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Home Depot by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 9,558 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,873,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $351.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.77 and a 1-year high of $439.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $397.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $399.44.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on HD. KGI Securities raised shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Home Depot from $455.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.