The Home Depot, Inc. $HD is Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s Largest Position

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 883,115 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 29,968 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for about 5.2% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.09% of Home Depot worth $357,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financially Speaking Inc purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $405.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. HSBC dropped their price target on Home Depot from $445.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $424.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $416.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total transaction of $940,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,196 shares in the company, valued at $4,599,069.92. This trade represents a 17.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of HD traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $341.39. The stock had a trading volume of 594,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,203,259. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $373.95 and its 200 day moving average is $377.29. The firm has a market cap of $339.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $426.75.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $38.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 134.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $2.33 per share. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.65%.

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.