May Barnhard Investments LLC Invests $431,000 in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,107 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $1,769,000. LBP AM SA grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 102,033 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $39,690,000 after buying an additional 50,409 shares during the last quarter. Integras Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $3,443,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $41,693,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $3,193,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $347.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $398.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.42. 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 company has a market capitalization of $345.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion during 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%. Home Depot’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. 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. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

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.