Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Has $4.89 Million Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,570 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,146 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,767,449,000 after acquiring an additional 433,126 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 2.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,819,679,000 after purchasing an additional 205,954 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,253,952,000 after buying an additional 409,890 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,943,400 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,192,666,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE HD opened at $393.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $390.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $401.23 and a 200-day moving average of $398.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HD. Barclays lifted their target price on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $433.44.

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.