Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Has $18.60 Million Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 53,656 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 793 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 2.7% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $18,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Home Depot by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $236,865,000 after purchasing an additional 24,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $417.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $335.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $367.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $339.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.