Welch & Forbes LLC Purchases 320 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 430,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 320 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises about 2.1% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $157,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV increased 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 worth $6,954,431,000 after purchasing an additional 18,956,701 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,032,910,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 10,210,851 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Home Depot by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,726,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $471,189,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $359.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $357.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $366.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $375.02. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.31 and a 1-year high of $439.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $398.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Home Depot from $410.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.77.

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.