Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,755 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HD. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Home Depot by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 655 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock traded down $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $362.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,970,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,441,024. The company's 50 day moving average price is $358.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $388.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $360.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.77 and a 1-year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Home Depot from $391.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $430.32.

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.