Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,376 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $10,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 563 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 2,137 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.7%

Home Depot stock opened at $346.41 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $362.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $381.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $344.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.02. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.31 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The business had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,130.14. The trade was a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,413,285.76. This represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Gordon Haskett boosted their price target on Home Depot from $350.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $398.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.77.

Home Depot Profile

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.