Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 863,940 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 164,121 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $336,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $352.12 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $393.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $399.14. The stock has a market cap of $349.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on HD. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Home Depot from $455.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, 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. Nine investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average 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.