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

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

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centerpoint Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group now owns 3,163 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. raised its stake in Home Depot by 2.3% in the second quarter. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. now owns 1,178 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Brio Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 4.7% in the second quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 574 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Emprise Bank boosted its position in Home Depot by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Emprise Bank now owns 3,135 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $346.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $344.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.06. 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 one year low of $326.31 and a one year high of $426.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $359.69 and its 200 day moving average is $377.96.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.71%.

Key Headlines Impacting Home Depot

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total value of $51,947.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,413,763.20. This trade represents a 1.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. The trade was a 17.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,963 shares of company stock valued at $1,748,845. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial set a $390.00 price objective on Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. DZ Bank reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.10.

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.