Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 795 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of HD opened at $352.12 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $393.97 and its 200 day moving average is $399.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The company has a market capitalization of $349.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

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.