Ballast Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,065 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD opened at $355.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $394.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.78. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.