MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Home Depot by 1.8%, now owning 292,457 shares valued at approximately $107 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Home Depot, with an average target price of $432.52 and 19 analysts rating it as a "Buy."
• Home Depot declared a quarterly dividend of $2.30 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 62.50%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,457 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 5,335 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for about 0.6% of MetLife Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $107,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 0.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 6,506 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.8% in the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 4,784 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% in the first quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 31,728 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $11,628,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tabor Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter valued at $5,886,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 3,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.66, for a total transaction of $1,359,930.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,348,365.30. This trade represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.23, for a total transaction of $2,265,740.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,635,234.11. The trade was a 25.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $18,648,987. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on HD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price target on shares of Home Depot and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $398.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $432.52.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $408.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,486,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,596,292. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $376.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.24. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.69 by ($0.01). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.86% and a return on equity of 193.99%. The firm had revenue of $45.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.940-14.940 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

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.