Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,996 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 587 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $10,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 86.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $497.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Home Depot from $417.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.42.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $387.72 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $403.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $377.52. 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 company has a market capitalization of $385.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.00. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $326.31 and a 12-month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.60 earnings per share. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.940-14.940 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 3,369 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.66, for a total value of $1,359,930.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,348,365.30. The trade was 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 Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.22, for a total value of $13,067,346.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,629,658.50. This represents a 21.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,835 shares of company stock worth $19,623,432. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.