Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $20.97 Million Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 60,500 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $20,966,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HD. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’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 value 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $342.87 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $369.91 and a 200-day moving average of $338.58. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,339.65% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer cut Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.35.

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.