AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 38.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,821 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 35,175 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $23,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the second quarter worth $263,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,149,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,196 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,938,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Home Depot by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 48,175 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $17,663,000 after acquiring an additional 15,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Home Depot by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 42,376 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $15,537,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $395.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Home Depot from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.50.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $371.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $370.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $359.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $378.68. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $426.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.06 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th were given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Home Depot

Here are the key news stories impacting Home Depot this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management is cutting roughly 800 corporate roles as part of a reorganization intended to speed decision-making and redirect resources toward frontline stores—cost reductions could support margins and near-term EPS if savings are realized. Home Depot to cut 800 corporate jobs at its Atlanta store support center
• Positive Sentiment: Product placement: Home Depot will carry Back to the Roots’ 100% organic heirloom seed line across about 2,000 U.S. stores — a seasonal merchandising boost for the gardening category that can drive incremental traffic and sales in spring. Back to the Roots Expands Organic Heirloom Seed Line to The Home Depot Stores Nationwide
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain mixed on Home Depot’s outlook; some see resilience in discretionary demand while others point to housing headwinds — mixed analyst views mean guidance and upcoming comps will likely drive short-term trading more than a unanimous thesis. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Consumer Cyclical Companies: Home Depot (HD) and Starbucks (SBUX)
• Negative Sentiment: The scale of the cuts and an order for corporate employees to return to the office five days a week are being interpreted as management reacting to a slowdown (notably a frozen housing market). That raises concern about lower same-store sales and traffic ahead, which could pressure revenue and the stock until comps or guidance rebound. Home Depot Cuts 800 Workers, Orders Corporate Workers Back to Office Full Time

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total transaction of $1,000,949.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. This represents a 17.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total transaction of $51,947.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,413,763.20. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,963 shares of company stock worth $1,748,845. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Home Depot

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and an integrated online platform offering a broad range of products and services for do-it-yourself consumers, professional contractors and businesses. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Since opening its first stores at the end of the 1970s, Home Depot has grown into a multinational retailer known for its orange-branded stores and wide assortment of home improvement merchandise.

Home Depot’s core business includes the sale of building materials, lumber, tools, hardware, appliances, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and garden products, and home décor.