5,687,925 Shares in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,687,925 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,546,000. Home Depot comprises 0.8% of Raymond James Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.57% of Home Depot at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $386.82 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $400.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $399.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

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.