The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by purchasing an additional 20,166 shares, bringing its total ownership to 232,969 shares, valued at approximately $85.4 million.
• Home Depot's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $3.56, missing analyst estimates by $0.03, despite revenue surpassing expectations at $39.86 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.30, representing an annual yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio of 62.42%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,969 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 20,166 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises 1.2% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $85,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,484,199 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $35,360,494,000 after purchasing an additional 720,447 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV lifted its stake in Home Depot by 99,400.7% in the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 18,975,772 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,954,431,000 after acquiring an additional 18,956,701 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,415,278 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $5,282,398,000 after acquiring an additional 891,326 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Home Depot by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,845,098,000 after acquiring an additional 647,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Home Depot by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,726,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424,857 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up previously from $410.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $425.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $420.00 target price on shares of Home Depot and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $426.77.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,413,285.76. This trade represents a 23.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE HD traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $387.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,605,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,090,072. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $371.97. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $439.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $385.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.42%.

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.