Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 4,600 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,095 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 4,600 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $53,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 110.0% in the third quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Financially Speaking Inc bought a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter worth $31,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $414.17.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $324.22 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.31 and a 1 year high of $426.75. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $343.27 and its 200 day moving average is $359.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $38.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. Home Depot’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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a $2.33 dividend. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total value of $940,669.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,439,951.74. This represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.