Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,196 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.4% of Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HD. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 2.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,074 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 7.4% during the third quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,013 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 3.4% during the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Home Depot by 17.6% during the third quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 840 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% during the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 17,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,211,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer lowered Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wedbush increased their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $3.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $335.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,465,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,779,238. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $332.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $364.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.97.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot Company 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.