Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,063 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $20,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,845,098,000 after purchasing an additional 647,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,726,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HD. TD Securities cut shares of Home Depot to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up previously from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 target price on Home Depot and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday. Seven investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.77.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the business'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 $6,413,285.76. The trade was a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $368.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,318,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,408,047. The company has a market cap of $367.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.93 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $361.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $385.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $39.86 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Home Depot's payout ratio 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.