Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 326,927 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,891 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Home Depot were worth $119,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,032,910,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 39,194.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,236,903 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,517,230,000 after purchasing an additional 10,210,851 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 21,394.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $793,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Home Depot by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HD shares. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $398.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price target on shares of Home Depot and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.77.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. This represents a 23.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,919,130.14. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of HD traded up $3.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $350.21. 8,001,951 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,437,824. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $326.31 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $362.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $380.63. The firm has a market cap of $348.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $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 anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot's payout ratio is presently 62.42%.

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.