First Merchants Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

First Merchants Corp cut its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,196 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 671 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $9,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nadler Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.4% during the first quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,884 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 15.3% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 822 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Home Depot by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,012 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GenTrust LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.5%

HD opened at $363.70 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $363.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $378.21. The firm has a market cap of $361.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 242.51% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $954,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. The trade was a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. This trade represents a 23.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HD. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.