Empirical Finance LLC Decreases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,563 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.8% of Empirical Finance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $13,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its position in Home Depot by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 17.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Home Depot by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,793,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $407.39 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $404.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $406.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $394.24.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.81 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on HD. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $459.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.