Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 60,500 The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 60,500 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $20,966,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.35.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HD traded down $4.94 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $337.93. 4,208,693 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,320,297. The company has a market cap of $334.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $369.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot's payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.