China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 1,403 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,257 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up 0.7% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 24.64% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at $6,413,285.76. This trade represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HD. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $398.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. TD Securities cut shares of Home Depot to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. 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, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.77.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $371.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.31 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The stock has a market cap of $369.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $365.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $376.15.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 62.42%.

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.