First Merchants Corp Sells 1,469 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

First Merchants Corp cut its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,997 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,469 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $10,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth $4,885,603,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 16,746.9% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,663,768,000 after buying an additional 4,510,944 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 1.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at about $418,486,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Home Depot

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor rotation into cash‑rich retailers and a stronger-than-expected renovation trend could boost Home Depot’s sales and investor appetite for defensive retail names; this theme is being cited as a supportive factor. Investor Shift To Cash-Rich Retailers And Renovation Trend Could Be A Game Changer For Home Depot (HD)
• Positive Sentiment: Local ICE enforcement developments (a Phoenix raid) appear to have eased a near-term labor disruption risk narrative for Home Depot, which traders have interpreted as a modest tailwind. Phoenix Raid Lands Four Day Laborers, Home Depot Stock Notches Up
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst/market coverage highlighted a short‑term uptick in the shares and key technical moves, which can attract momentum buyers. Home Depot (HD) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity has been reported around HD; options flow can signal speculative positioning but does not establish direction for fundamentals. Home Depot Unusual Options Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer-form analysis frames Home Depot as a potential turnaround/“fixer‑upper” given consumer headwinds (student loans, rising healthcare costs, softer labor market) but stops short of near‑term bullishness — useful context for longer‑term investors. Home Depot: A Fixer-Upper Amid Student Loans, Rising Healthcare Premiums, And Soft Labor Market
• Negative Sentiment: Home Depot issued FY2025 EPS guidance of 14.478 (single-point) and revenue guidance of ~$164.3B, both slightly below consensus — a primary near‑term negative catalyst that pressures valuation and expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investor investigation into Home Depot, which raises potential legal/financial risk and tends to weigh on investor sentiment until resolved. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of The Home Depot, Inc.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted Home Depot underperformed peers on a relative basis despite an intra‑day gain, signaling investor caution versus competitors. Home Depot Inc. stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitors despite daily gains

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $395.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $353.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $413.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $376.00 to $366.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.10.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $349.09 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $326.31 and a 52-week high of $426.75. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $355.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $377.63. The stock has a market cap of $347.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 13.01 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.09). Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm had revenue of $41.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total transaction of $51,947.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,413,763.20. This trade represents a 1.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total value of $1,000,949.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. The trade was a 17.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,963 shares of company stock worth $1,748,845. 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.