QV Investors Inc. Decreases Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

QV Investors Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,527 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 38.4% during the 4th 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,117,016,000 after buying an additional 992,444 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth $207,210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD traded up $3.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $335.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,465,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $364.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $340.68. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Wedbush raised their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Home Depot 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.