Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 5,862 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its Home Depot stake by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,862 shares and leaving it with 14,395 shares worth about $4.95 million.
• Home Depot recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.43 and revenue of $41.77 billion, while also reaffirming its fiscal 2026 guidance.
• The stock has drawn mixed analyst reaction, with several price-target cuts, but overall Wall Street still rates HD as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $392.45.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lessened its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,395 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 5,862 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $4,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 110.0% in the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financially Speaking Inc bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Home Depot

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

• Positive Sentiment: Home Depot beat Wall Street’s estimates on both earnings and revenue, reporting EPS of $3.43 on sales of $41.77 billion, helped by steady demand from professional customers and smaller DIY projects. Home Depot beats quarterly sales estimates on steady demand
• Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance, which reassured investors worried about a slowdown in home-improvement spending. Home Depot's stock rises as the full-year outlook was kept intact, a relief for worried investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparable sales rose 0.6% overall and 0.4% in the U.S., showing modest growth but also confirming that demand is improving only gradually. The Home Depot Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results; Reaffirms Fiscal 2026 Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said consumers are still feeling pressure from higher gas prices and affordability concerns, and the company noted that stronger second-half growth may depend more on normal storm activity than on a broad consumer recovery. Home Depot CFO: 'No question' consumers feel the effects of high gas prices, affordability pressures
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets after the report, reflecting caution about slower housing-related spending and limited near-term growth. Home Depot price target updates

Home Depot Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of HD stock opened at $302.23 on Wednesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.10 and a 12 month high of $426.75. The stock has a market cap of $301.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $329.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.04.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.02. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 134.32%. The business had revenue of $41.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.690-15.278 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $2.33 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HD. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $365.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $395.00 to $330.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $392.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total transaction of $940,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,439,951.74. This represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.

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