Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Trims Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,961 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 102,881 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $33,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Home Depot by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $470.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $445.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.32.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $379.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $358.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $387.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a market capitalization of $376.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is an increase 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 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.