National Pension Service Buys 100,507 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in The Home Depot by 5.4%, owning 1,963,349 shares which represents 0.7% of its investment portfolio.
• In recent earnings, Home Depot reported $3.56 earnings per share, slightly missing expectations, while revenue rose to $39.86 billion, exceeding analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.30 per share, reflecting a 2.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 62.42%.

National Pension Service increased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,963,349 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 100,507 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up 0.7% of National Pension Service's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. National Pension Service owned 0.20% of Home Depot worth $719,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,148 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 84,704 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $32,949,000 after purchasing an additional 25,890 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 3,117 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded down $6.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $400.73. 3,599,312 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,094,821. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $369.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.03. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.31 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $398.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The business had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $433.00 price objective (up from $417.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities lowered Home Depot to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $427.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

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

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.