Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 243,989 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 21,518 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for 2.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $98,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 33,540.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,478,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $509,081,000 after buying an additional 1,474,459 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at $513,016,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,853,143,000 after buying an additional 971,833 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at $301,364,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,917,286 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,886,271,000 after buying an additional 569,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HD. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $426.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $404.69.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD opened at $415.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $385.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $358.50. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $421.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $411.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $43.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

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.