Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 2,433 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Plato Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,993 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,433 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,635,779 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $34,284,672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325,748 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,400,133 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,619,229,000 after acquiring an additional 30,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 60.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,143,089 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,109,878,000 after acquiring an additional 3,836,051 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,130,293 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,104,694,000 after acquiring an additional 197,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,181,165 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,504,546,000 after acquiring an additional 116,875 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

More Home Depot News

Here are the key news stories impacting Home Depot this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2028 earnings estimate for Home Depot, suggesting continued confidence in long-term profitability, with its forecast moving slightly higher to $16.30 per share from $16.26. This kind of estimate revision can help offset some negative sentiment around the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to improving home improvement spending, with contractors still favoring Home Depot as one of their top destinations. That supports the case for steadier demand heading into future quarters. Home Improvement Spending Is, Well, Improving. Lowe’s Stock Looks Cheap.
• Neutral Sentiment: Home Depot and Hertz launched a nationwide military appreciation campaign that includes discounts and upgrades for service members and veterans. The initiative may help brand loyalty, but it is not likely to have an immediate material impact on earnings. Home Depot Hertz Military Campaign Aims To Deepen Long Term Loyalty
• Neutral Sentiment: Home Depot is drawing analyst attention in broader market coverage, but the article does not indicate a major new catalyst by itself. Home Depot, Apollo, Oscar, Nutrien, Enovix Trending With Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Gordon Haskett lowered its price target on Home Depot from $395 to $330, signaling reduced upside expectations even though the new target still sits above the current share price. That kind of cut can weigh on investor sentiment. Gordon Haskett Adjusts Home Depot Price Target to 330 From 395

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD stock opened at $317.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $339.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $357.57. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.40 and a fifty-two week high of $426.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $316.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.20. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 134.32%. The firm had revenue of $38.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.03 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $2.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total transaction of $940,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,439,951.74. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $413.00 to $409.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial set a $424.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $410.86.

Home Depot Company Profile

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.