Voleon Capital Management LP Raises Position in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. by 325.7% in the first quarter, holding 35,173 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million.
• Institutional investors now own 70.86% of Home Depot's stock, with several funds including Brighton Jones LLC and Jefferies Financial Group also increasing their holdings in the fourth quarter.
• The Home Depot announced a quarterly dividend of $2.30 per share, reflecting a 2.2% yield and a 62.5% dividend payout ratio.

Voleon Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 325.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,173 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 26,910 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for approximately 1.0% of Voleon Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Home Depot were worth $12,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,918 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $10,471,000 after buying an additional 7,203 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 12,204 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,747,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. KKM Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 8,263 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $3,214,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 515.1% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 73,008 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $28,400,000 after buying an additional 61,139 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $423.33. 3,801,533 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,561,033. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $388.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.31 and a 1-year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Home Depot had a return on equity of 193.99% and a net margin of 8.86%.The firm had revenue of $45.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.940-14.940 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 3,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.66, for a total transaction of $1,359,930.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,348,365.30. This represents a 6.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 32,897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.22, for a total transaction of $13,067,346.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,658.50. The trade was a 21.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,532 shares of company stock worth $18,648,987. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $350.00 to $360.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $432.52.

Home Depot 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.