Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,284 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,093 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $13,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Finley Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HD. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Home Depot from $459.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of HD stock opened at $407.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $406.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $394.24. The stock has a market cap of $404.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.81 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

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.