The Home Depot, Inc. $HD Shares Acquired by New England Research & Management Inc.

Key Points

• New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. by 10.5%, now holding 7,771 shares valued at approximately $2.85 million.
• Several institutions have also acquired or increased their holdings in Home Depot, resulting in hedge funds owning nearly 71% of the company's stock.
• Home Depot's stock has seen a target price increase from various analysts, with the average target now at $432.52 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

New England Research & Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,771 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 737 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 1.4% of New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 99,400.7% during the 1st quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 18,975,772 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,954,431,000 after acquiring an additional 18,956,701 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 39,194.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,236,903 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,517,230,000 after purchasing an additional 10,210,851 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $2,076,592,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,253,292 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,391,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,415,278 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $5,282,398,000 after acquiring an additional 891,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $497.00 price objective for the company. TD Securities lowered Home Depot to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Home Depot from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $435.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded down $1.71 on Friday, reaching $415.77. 6,709,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,720,799. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $394.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $373.39. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $326.31 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31. The stock has a market cap of $413.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.69 by ($0.01). Home Depot had a return on equity of 193.99% and a net margin of 8.86%.The company had revenue of $45.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.60 earnings per share. Home Depot's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.940-14.940 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Home Depot's payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 3,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.66, for a total value of $1,359,930.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,455 shares in the company, valued at $18,348,365.30. The trade was a 6.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.23, for a total transaction of $2,265,740.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,635,234.11. This represents a 25.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,835 shares of company stock valued at $19,623,432. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.