National Pension Service lifts Home Depot stake as shares trade near 52-week low

National Pension Service adds to its Home Depot position

South Korea's National Pension Service increased its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) by 2.5% during the second quarter, purchasing an additional 53,737 shares to bring its stake to 2,243,280 shares. The position was valued at $791,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter, representing 0.22% of the home improvement retailer. The disclosure appeared in the pension fund's most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Smaller funds build new or expanded stakes

Several other institutional investors adjusted their positions in Home Depot during recent quarters. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its stake by 110.0% in the third quarter, ending with 63 shares valued at $26,000. Zeit Capital LLC, Advocate Investing Services LLC, Cache Advisors LLC and Imprint Wealth LLC each opened new positions valued at roughly $25,000 to $34,000. Institutional investors collectively own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Share price sits below key moving averages

Home Depot shares opened at $310.74 on Thursday, below the stock's 50-day simple moving average of $337.16 and 200-day simple moving average of $334.61. The company carries a market capitalization of $310.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.95. Its 52-week trading range runs from a low of $289.10 to a high of $426.75, and the current price sits near the lower end of that band.

Earnings beat and full-year guidance frame recent results

Home Depot last reported quarterly results on Tuesday, August 18, posting earnings of $4.92 per share on revenue of $47.86 billion, both above consensus estimates of $4.73 per share and $47.24 billion. Revenue rose 5.7% compared with the same quarter a year earlier, when EPS reached $4.68. The retailer set its full-year 2026 EPS guidance at $14.690 to $15.278, while analysts on average expect $15 in EPS for the current year.

Dividend set, insider sale recorded

The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.33 per share, payable Thursday, September 17 to shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3, equating to an annualized $9.32 and a yield of 3.0%. The payout ratio stands at 65.22%. Separately, CFO Richard V. McPhail sold 5,989 shares at an average price of $348.40 on Wednesday, August 19, in a transaction valued at $2,086,567.60, leaving him with 48,104 shares.

Analyst actions cluster around recent results

Analyst moves tied to the August earnings include Royal Bank of Canada trimming its price target from $343 to $342 with a "sector perform" rating on Wednesday, August 19, and Stifel Nicolaus raising its target in a subsequent note. Gordon Haskett had earlier lifted its target from $320 to $330 on June 12, while Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from "hold (c-)" to "hold (c)" on July 7.