Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 54,723 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 198,450 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 54,723 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $68,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 110.0% during the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financially Speaking Inc bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $324.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $343.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $359.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $315.31 and a 1-year high of $426.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $38.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 134.32%. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $2.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 65.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total transaction of $940,669.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,566 shares in the company, valued at $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $413.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Home Depot from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $414.17.

Home Depot Profile

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and an integrated online platform offering a broad range of products and services for do-it-yourself consumers, professional contractors and businesses. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Since opening its first stores at the end of the 1970s, Home Depot has grown into a multinational retailer known for its orange-branded stores and wide assortment of home improvement merchandise.

Home Depot’s core business includes the sale of building materials, lumber, tools, hardware, appliances, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and garden products, and home décor.