Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,666 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,681 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $18,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,121,000 after buying an additional 6,163 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 11.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 76,914 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,477,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Home Depot by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 239,055 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $82,293,000 after purchasing an additional 9,131 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,003,000 after buying an additional 4,607 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of HD stock opened at $409.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $406.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $387.45. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company has a market capitalization of $406.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Gordon Haskett raised Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.