Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 212,803 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,163 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 1.2% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $82,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.7 %

HD stock opened at $364.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $360.97 and its 200 day moving average is $390.34. 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 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a market capitalization of $362.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HD. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.08.

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.