Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,705 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $8,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc raised its position in Home Depot by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 0.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 6,506 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,758 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $409,000. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 0.8% during the first quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 31,728 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $11,628,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $354.10 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The company has a market cap of $352.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $362.73 and its 200 day moving average is $382.50.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced 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 net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities downgraded Home Depot to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.