U S Wealth Group LLC. Cuts Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Key Points

• U S Wealth Group LLC reduced its stake in Home Depot by 22.7% in Q1, now owning 5,898 shares worth approximately $2.16 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stake significantly, with Asset Planning Services Inc. raising their holdings by 99,400.7%, now owning nearly $6.95 billion worth of shares.
• Home Depot reported $4.68 EPS for the latest quarter, missing expectations slightly, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $2.30 per share to be paid in September.

U S Wealth Group LLC. decreased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,898 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,736 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 1.7% of U S Wealth Group LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. U S Wealth Group LLC.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,484,199 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $35,360,494,000 after buying an additional 720,447 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 99,400.7% during the 1st quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 18,975,772 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,954,431,000 after acquiring an additional 18,956,701 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,415,278 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $5,282,398,000 after acquiring an additional 891,326 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 39,194.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,236,903 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,517,230,000 after acquiring an additional 10,210,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Home Depot by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,253,292 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,391,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 3,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.66, for a total value of $1,359,930.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,348,365.30. This represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William D. Bastek sold 3,783 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.23, for a total transaction of $1,551,900.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,941,924.05. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $18,648,987 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on 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 objective on Home Depot and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $432.52.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of HD stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $421.76. 2,033,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,554,563. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $419.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $388.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.69 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $45.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.43 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.86% and a return on equity of 193.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.60 earnings per share. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.940-14.940 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Home Depot's payout ratio is presently 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.