Bender Robert & Associates Has $3.42 Million Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Bender Robert & Associates increased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,779 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up approximately 0.8% of Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HD. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $368.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $366.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $399.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $400.03.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders 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 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Home Depot 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.