Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes $14.18 Million Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 34,984 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,175,000. Home Depot makes up approximately 0.7% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 27.6% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,348,000 after buying an additional 5,879 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in Home Depot by 17.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after acquiring an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 121.0% during the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 269,368 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $92,727,000 after purchasing an additional 147,482 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 225.6% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 32,717 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 22,668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.5 %

Home Depot stock opened at $410.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $306.48 and a one year high of $421.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $402.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $407.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

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.