Columbia Asset Management Sells 302,379 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Key Points

• Columbia Asset Management significantly reduced its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. by selling 302,379 shares, representing a 95.6% decrease during the second quarter.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment towards Home Depot, with several firms increasing their price targets, notably to $450 by Wells Fargo and Mizuho.
• Home Depot recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $9.20 and a yield of 2.3%.

Columbia Asset Management reduced its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 95.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,954 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 302,379 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for about 1.0% of Columbia Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Home Depot were worth $5,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 86.8% during the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $497.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $436.40.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP William D. Bastek sold 2,303 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.12, for a total value of $974,445.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,254,313.20. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,000 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.07, for a total value of $404,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,416.59. This represents a 20.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,835 shares of company stock worth $19,623,432. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD opened at $405.25 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $401.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $403.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.69 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $45.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.43 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 193.99% and a net margin of 8.86%.Home Depot's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.60 earnings per share. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.940-14.940 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.50%.

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.

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