Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,185 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 valued at $5,117,016,000 after acquiring an additional 992,444 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,777 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,540,197,000 after buying an additional 347,614 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,311,070,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,802,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,050,363,000 after acquiring an additional 195,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Home Depot by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,465,972 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,240,783,000 after purchasing an additional 82,672 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $341.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $338.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $352.59. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Zelman & Associates raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.42.

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.