First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 1,627 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,599 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,627 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $24,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth $32,000. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.7%

HD stock opened at $383.63 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.31 and a fifty-two week high of $426.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $356.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $378.53. 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 company has a market capitalization of $381.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.08.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.09). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 160.74%. The firm had revenue of $41.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company’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, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is 62.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 3,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,409,419.83. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. This trade represents a 17.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,963 shares of company stock worth $1,748,845. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $441.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Gordon Haskett dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $424.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $362.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, November 24th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.50.

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.