Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,317 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,370,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HD. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $441.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $376.00 to $366.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Home Depot from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Home Depot from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.50.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.0%

HD opened at $380.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The firm has a market cap of $379.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $326.31 and a 12 month high of $426.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $355.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $378.34.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.06 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 160.74%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 62.71%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.63, for a total transaction of $695,947.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,409,419.83. This represents a 33.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total value of $51,947.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,413,763.20. This trade represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,963 shares of company stock valued at $1,748,845. Corporate insiders own 0.10% 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.