China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 1,403 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,257 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for 0.7% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,951 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total transaction of $1,996,327.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at $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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $470.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price target on shares of Home Depot and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Home Depot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.77.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $369.04. The company had a trading volume of 780,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,427,859. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $365.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $375.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $326.31 and a one year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $367.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a return on equity of 242.51% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were given 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 2.49%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.42%.

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.