Strategic Advocates LLC Buys Shares of 722 The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Key Points

• Strategic Advocates LLC has made a strategic investment of $265,000 in The Home Depot by purchasing 722 shares during the second quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, have significantly increased their stakes in Home Depot, indicating strong interest in the company.
• Home Depot recently reported earnings of $4.68 per share, slightly missing analyst expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $2.30 to be paid in September.

Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 722 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 114 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.07, for a total transaction of $404,070.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,550,416.59. This represents a 20.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,483 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $413.23, for a total value of $2,265,740.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,635,234.11. This trade represents a 25.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,835 shares of company stock valued at $19,623,432 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $398.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $435.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock traded up $0.66 on Thursday, hitting $417.66. The company had a trading volume of 3,672,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,587,030. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $393.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $373.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a twelve month low of $326.31 and a twelve month high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $415.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.68 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $45.43 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 193.99% and a net margin of 8.86%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.60 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.940-14.940 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

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.