Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $62.28 Million Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 350.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179,711 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 139,796 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 1.2% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $62,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optas LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% in the third quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its position in Home Depot by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Investors Inc. boosted its position in Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD traded up $3.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $335.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,135,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,339,346. The firm has a market cap of $332.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $363.04 and a 200-day moving average of $341.81. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.60%.

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.