Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 468,203 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,052,091 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 468,203 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises approximately 1.2% of Alliancebernstein L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,521,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $357.86 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $355.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $398.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. 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 yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

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.