The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Bought by WealthTrust Axiom LLC

WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,686 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,032,910,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,715,668,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,052,091 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,521,173,000 after buying an additional 468,203 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE HD opened at $353.62 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $375.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $395.97. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. 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 company has a market capitalization of $351.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.08.

Home Depot 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.