Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $13,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,311,070,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth approximately $513,016,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after purchasing an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 15.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,853,143,000 after buying an additional 971,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth approximately $301,364,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HD. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.79.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $2.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $363.92. The stock had a trading volume of 74,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,394,458. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $356.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.15. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

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.