The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stock Position Lessened by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,250,140 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 655,539 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,351,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 3.3% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 17,990 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,290,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management boosted its stake in Home Depot by 11.9% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 4,616 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Home Depot by 80.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 63,324 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $25,659,000 after buying an additional 28,208 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at about $840,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 304.8% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,099 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $20,300,000 after purchasing an additional 37,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $414.45 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $411.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $411.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $377.35. 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 data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Home Depot from $459.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho upped their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

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.