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

First Merchants Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter worth about $29,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $441.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $395.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Home Depot from $470.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Twenty-one investment 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.10.

Key Stories Impacting 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.63, for a total value 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. This represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total transaction of $1,000,949.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,599,069.92. This represents a 17.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,963 shares of company stock valued at $1,748,845. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $349.09 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $355.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $377.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The company has a market capitalization of $347.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $326.31 and a 12 month high of $426.75.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $41.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. On average, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

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

Home Depot 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.