Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,641 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises about 1.3% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $6,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HD. Wedbush raised 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. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $323.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 owned by insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $339.82 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The firm has a market cap of $336.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $360.47 and its 200-day moving average is $343.54.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

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.