Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 82,238 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management cut its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 33.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,331 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 82,238 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up approximately 2.8% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $62,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Home Depot by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after buying an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,540,197,000 after buying an additional 347,614 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,311,070,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after buying an additional 195,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Home Depot by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,465,972 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,240,783,000 after buying an additional 82,672 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $344.24. The company had a trading volume of 6,344,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,389. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $341.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on HD. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $417.00 to $406.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.42.

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.