Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 196,565 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1,774.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 207,640 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 196,565 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for about 1.2% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $84,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its position in Home Depot by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,879 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% during the third quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation grew its holdings in Home Depot by 121.0% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 269,368 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $92,727,000 after purchasing an additional 147,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 673,876 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $273,055,000 after buying an additional 84,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.5 %

HD opened at $429.13 on Monday. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $308.59 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $407.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $372.20. The stock has a market cap of $426.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HD. TD Cowen raised their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Daiwa America upgraded Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Company 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.