Avitas Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD – Get Rating) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,008 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. First Personal Financial Services raised its stake in Home Depot by 81.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Align Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Home Depot from $323.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $360.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.45.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.6 %

HD opened at $288.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $303.66. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $264.51 and a 1-year high of $347.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.93.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.04. Home Depot had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 4,929.40%. The business had revenue of $35.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $2.09 per share. This represents a $8.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 8th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 50.12%.

About Home Depot

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The Home Depot, Inc engages in the sale of building materials and home improvement products. Its products include building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products and decor products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: U.S., Canada and Mexico. It offers home improvement installation services, and tool and equipment rental.