Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 5,625 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,257 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 5,625 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $8,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth about $4,885,603,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 36,207.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,076,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,694,552,000 after acquiring an additional 10,049,029 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 16,746.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,663,768,000 after acquiring an additional 4,510,944 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,978,814 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,922,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at approximately $418,486,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of HD stock opened at $345.87 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $357.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $377.64. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $426.75. The stock has a market cap of $344.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82.

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). The firm had revenue of $41.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.06 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. Analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 62.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 3,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,409,419.83. This trade represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares in the company, valued at $4,599,069.92. This represents a 17.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,963 shares of company stock worth $1,748,845. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $376.00 to $366.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $362.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Twenty-one investment 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 MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.10.

Home Depot Company 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.