The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Stock Position Reduced by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 326 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.9 %

HD traded up $3.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $366.81. 1,325,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,390,115. The stock has a market cap of $363.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $344.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $353.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The firm had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $417.00 to $406.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $426.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.80.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Home Depot

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.