Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $2.09 Million Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,364 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD opened at $354.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $370.53 and its 200 day moving average is $394.69. 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 company has a market cap of $352.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

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.