SlateStone Wealth LLC Sells 1,153 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Key Points

• SlateStone Wealth LLC has reduced its stakes in The Home Depot by 3.1%, now holding 35,960 shares valued at about $13.18 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and StoneX Group Inc., have increased their holdings in Home Depot, indicating strong interest amid fluctuating investor sentiment.
• Home Depot reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, missing expectations by $0.03, but showed a revenue increase of 9.4% year-over-year.

SlateStone Wealth LLC lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,960 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,153 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises 1.3% of SlateStone Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. SlateStone Wealth LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $13,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,918 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $10,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Home Depot by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 12,204 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,747,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 8,807.1% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 22,091 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $8,593,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 49,081 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $19,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HD. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $393.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $398.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,367 shares of the company's stock, 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.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.6%

HD stock traded up $6.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $373.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,006,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,228,696. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $371.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $365.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.91.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The business had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. Home Depot's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Home Depot's payout ratio is 62.42%.

About Home Depot

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.