Raymond James & Associates Boosts Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,556,074 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,282 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up 0.8% of Raymond James & Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.36% of Home Depot worth $1,224,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bey Douglas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $913,000. Hartline Investment Corp increased its stake in Home Depot by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 15,574 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $387,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 213,799 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $74,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 3.3% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 37,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $14,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded up $1.99 on Friday, reaching $362.06. 3,308,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,434,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $350.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.23. The firm has a market cap of $359.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.98. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 60.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $426.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $386.33.

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.