Bailard Inc. Has $28.77 Million Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,026 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 493 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for 0.9% of Bailard Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $28,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth about $207,210,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 20.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,468,902 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $746,003,000 after purchasing an additional 421,619 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Home Depot by 11.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,418,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,032,904,000 after purchasing an additional 346,641 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HD. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:HD traded down $6.11 on Wednesday, hitting $332.89. 4,027,485 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,358,525. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $365.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a market cap of $329.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.