Rafferty Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,325 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 13,984 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Home Depot were worth $44,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $470.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 note on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $391.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.32.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded up $2.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $380.74. 3,127,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,419,033. 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 fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The company has a market capitalization of $378.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $358.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $388.02.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

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.