Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $500.84 Million Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,287,526 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 20,545 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises approximately 2.6% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $500,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 17.8% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after buying an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 14.3% in the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 43,941 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $17,805,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $389.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $386.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $401.29 and a 200-day moving average of $399.57. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.