Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Shares in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,540,102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,953,883,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,771,247,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,850,329,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter worth about $2,777,396,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 worth $4,109,878,000 after buying an additional 3,836,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in Home Depot by 901.5% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,290,540 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,132,275,000 after buying an additional 2,961,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $328.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.03. The stock has a market cap of $327.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.95. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.10 and a 1-year high of $426.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $47.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.24 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 106.42% and a net margin of 8.41%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.68 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.690-15.278 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $2.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 65.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore cut their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 5,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.40, for a total transaction of $2,086,567.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,759,433.60. This trade represents a 11.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael F. Rowe sold 710 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.76, for a total transaction of $239,099.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,764.88. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,154 shares of company stock valued at $3,132,798. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company 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.