Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 8,563 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,665 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 8,563 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $92,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth $29,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages give HD a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” which supports investor confidence and could help limit downside. Consensus Rating “Moderate Buy”
• Positive Sentiment: Home Depot’s pro-market exposure should strengthen after SRS Distribution’s acquisition of GMS adds roughly $900M in quarterly sales to the pro channel, boosting FY25 outlook and recurring revenue from professional customers. Home Depot Expands Pro Market With GMS and SRS Pairing
• Neutral Sentiment: HD is drawing elevated investor attention and search interest; heightened focus can increase volatility (both buying and selling) around company news and earnings. HD Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: A consumer/ad story has triggered negative press and selling pressure (“You Killed Us” headline), suggesting brand/reputation risk that could affect traffic or sentiment in the near term. TipRanks: Ad Backlash Story
• Negative Sentiment: An EVP (Teresa Wynn Roseborough) disclosed a sale of ~2,872 shares late last week, trimming her stake — insider selling can be interpreted negatively by some investors even if for personal reasons. Insider Sale Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into Home Depot on behalf of investors, signaling potential securities litigation risk that could increase costs, distraction and downside volatility. Pomerantz Investigates

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $376.00 to $366.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $441.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.10.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE HD opened at $346.23 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $359.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $377.96. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $326.31 and a 12-month high of $426.75. The firm has a market cap of $344.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $41.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.06 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 62.71%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total transaction of $1,000,949.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,599,069.92. This represents a 17.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.63, for a total transaction of $695,947.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,941 shares in the company, valued at $1,409,419.83. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,963 shares of company stock worth $1,748,845. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.