Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 53,199 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,472 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 53,199 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $19,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,916,000. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,187 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Home Depot by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $650,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $437.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $6.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $364.41. 2,282,537 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,460,349. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The company has a market cap of $362.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $361.56 and a 200 day moving average of $390.89.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

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.