The Home Depot, Inc. $HD Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,266 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 3,038 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $52,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Home Depot from $395.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Home Depot from $444.00 to $423.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Home Depot from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $424.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $407.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $404.50.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. This trade represents a 17.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 3,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,409,419.83. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,963 shares of company stock worth $1,748,845 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.7%

HD opened at $383.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $326.31 and a 12 month high of $426.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $381.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $378.53.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced 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). Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.