The Home Depot, Inc. $HD Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,781 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $31,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $263,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $1,149,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% in the second quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,196 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,938,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth about $3,851,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 48,175 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $17,663,000 after acquiring an additional 15,002 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.63, for a total transaction of $695,947.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,941 shares in the company, valued at $1,409,419.83. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total value of $51,947.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,413,763.20. This trade represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 4,963 shares of company stock valued at $1,748,845 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE HD opened at $344.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $357.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $377.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $342.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $326.31 and a one year high of $426.75.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.06 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Gordon Haskett reduced their price target on Home Depot from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Truist Financial set a $390.00 target price on Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 27th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.10.

Home Depot Company Profile

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and an integrated online platform offering a broad range of products and services for do-it-yourself consumers, professional contractors and businesses. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Since opening its first stores at the end of the 1970s, Home Depot has grown into a multinational retailer known for its orange-branded stores and wide assortment of home improvement merchandise.

Home Depot’s core business includes the sale of building materials, lumber, tools, hardware, appliances, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and garden products, and home décor.