West Branch Capital LLC Buys 514 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,444 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises about 1.6% of West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 0.9% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 23,270 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,528,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 4,782 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 51,494 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $18,872,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,485 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Puff Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Puff Wealth Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. This represents a 23.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total transaction of $954,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. The trade was a 24.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $354.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $352.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $362.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $382.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Home Depot from $393.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.77.

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.