AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 258,968 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 52.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,685 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 258,968 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Home Depot were worth $84,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,918 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $10,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Home Depot by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 12,204 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,747,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in Home Depot by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 6,855 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 22,327 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $8,685,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 41,097 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $15,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HD. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $393.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $398.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $415.00 target price (up previously from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.77.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $359.32. 3,360,940 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,442,403. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $366.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $374.38. The company has a market cap of $357.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The business's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. The trade was a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. This trade represents a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.