60,500 Shares in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 60,500 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $20,966,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HD. Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. increased its stake in Home Depot by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock opened at $342.87 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The company has a market capitalization of $339.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $369.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $338.58.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,339.65%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 59.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on HD shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.35.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot 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.