Truist Financial Corp Lowers Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,878,573 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 219,633 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 1.0% of Truist Financial Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $651,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:HD traded up $3.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $335.01. 2,464,650 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,354,161. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $364.77 and its 200-day moving average is $340.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer downgraded Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. 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.