The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Holdings Lowered by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,922 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $9,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HD opened at $355.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $352.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $394.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $398.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.