Shell Asset Management Co. Lowers Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Shell Asset Management Co. decreased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 60.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,211 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 28,964 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises 0.8% of Shell Asset Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $7,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in Home Depot by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 38,305 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $15,521,000 after purchasing an additional 18,300 shares during the period. GenTrust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 5.7% in the third quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 765 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 948,549 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $384,353,000 after buying an additional 25,355 shares in the last quarter. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 172.3% during the third quarter. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Partners LTD. grew its stake in Home Depot by 3.6% during the third quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 4,590 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on HD shares. 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. Evercore dropped their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $424.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $407.23.

Home Depot Price Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $391.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.08. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $426.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $366.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.06 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 160.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 62.71%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,413,763.20. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have 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.