New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Buys 8,000 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,692 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.8% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $23,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Fox Hill Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 23.2% in the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 1,143 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 36.3% in the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 154 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 50.3% in the first quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,098 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.9% in the first quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 24,755 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,496,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:HD traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $344.24. 6,344,192 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,519,389. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.74.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HD shares. StockNews.com downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.