Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Invests $3.37 Million in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 8,317 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,370,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter valued at about $4,885,603,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 36,207.5% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,076,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,694,552,000 after buying an additional 10,049,029 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 16,746.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,663,768,000 after buying an additional 4,510,944 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,978,814 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,922,952,000 after buying an additional 1,494,615 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Home Depot by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,903,550 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,938,935,000 after buying an additional 790,476 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $414.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $348.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $444.00 to $423.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $441.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.50.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total transaction of $51,947.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,413,763.20. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,409,419.83. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,963 shares of company stock valued at $1,748,845 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $380.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $355.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $378.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.31 and a fifty-two week high of $426.75. The company has a market cap of $379.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.08.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 62.71%.

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.