Conning Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Conning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 97,001 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 12,546 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $33,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,635,779 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $34,284,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,748 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,400,133 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,619,229,000 after buying an additional 30,739 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Home Depot by 60.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,143,089 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,109,878,000 after buying an additional 3,836,051 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,130,293 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,104,694,000 after buying an additional 197,211 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.9% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,181,165 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,504,546,000 after buying an additional 116,875 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Home Depot this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory reiterated its Buy rating on Home Depot, adding to the view that the company remains a quality name ahead of earnings. Telsey Advisory Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Home Depot (HD)
• Positive Sentiment: Several market comments pointed to improving spring demand, stronger Pro customer activity, and continued big-ticket sales momentum, which could help offset housing-market weakness. Analyst Reaffirms Buy on Home Depot, Citing Resilient Spring Demand, Pro Strength, and Big-Ticket Sales Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Mortgage rates moved to five-week highs, but reports noted that homebuyers are still returning, which is a constructive sign for home-improvement demand and HD’s long-term sales outlook. Mortgage Rates Hit Five-Week Highs—But Homebuyers Are Returning, Boosting Home Depot, Lowe’s And Other Builders
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Home Depot’s upcoming first-quarter earnings on May 19, with analysts watching whether sales growth, Pro demand, and digital tools can offset continued pressure from the weak housing market. Home Depot to Post Q1 Earnings: Is Now the Right Time to Invest?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street cut some price targets, including Sanford C. Bernstein and Truist, but both firms kept constructive ratings overall, suggesting valuation concerns rather than a major change in the long-term outlook. Price target updates on Home Depot
• Negative Sentiment: Home Depot has been hit by a pre-earnings pullback as investors worry that housing turnover remains too weak to drive a near-term acceleration in DIY spending. Blue-Chip Stock Seeing a Pre-Earnings Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Broader housing-sector weakness continues to weigh on sentiment, with analysts noting that Home Depot’s business is sensitive to slower housing turnover and higher rates. Jim Cramer on Home Depot: “It Needs Housing Turnover”

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $413.00 to $409.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued 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 a consensus price target of $405.69.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $304.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $333.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $354.79. 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 one year low of $299.27 and a one year high of $426.75. The company has a market cap of $303.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.20. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 134.32%. The firm had revenue of $38.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $2.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 44,566 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.