If you've ever tackled a home improvement project, chances are that Home Depot (HD 0.94%) was one of the first brands to come to mind. The company is a giant in the home improvement industry, operating 2,345 stores, as of its latest fiscal third quarter.
It's not only a go-to retailer for builders and do-it-yourself consumers, but also an all-star stock for long-term investors. In fact, Home Depot is one of the best-performing stocks in history.
If you snagged just one share during its initial public offering (IPO), you'd now own hundreds, thanks to stock splits. Below, I'll look at Home Depot's stock-split history and crunch the numbers.
On Sept. 22, 1981, Home Depot went public with shares priced at $12 each at its IPO. Since then, the home improvement giant has executed 13 stock splits.
Here's a snapshot of Home Depot's stock-split timeline:
Split Type | Payable Date |
|---|---|
3-for-2 | Jan. 19, 1982 |
5-for-4 | April 30, 1982 |
2-for-1 | Dec. 7, 1982 |
2-for-1 | June 8, 1983 |
3-for-2 | Sept. 22, 1987 |
3-for-2 | June 30, 1989 |
3-for-2 | July 6, 1990 |
3-for-2 | June 26, 1991 |
3-for-2 | July 1, 1992 |
4-for-3 | April 14, 1993 |
3-for-2 | July 3, 1997 |
2-for-1 | June 2, 1998 |
3-for-2 | Dec. 30, 1999 |
Source: Home Depot. Chart by author.
Stock splits might seem exciting but are mostly cosmetic. They simply increase the number of shares you own while reducing the price per share, leaving the overall value unchanged. For instance, in a 2-for-1 split, one $100 share will become two $50 shares.
If you were an original Home Depot shareholder, your single share would have grown into 341 shares after the 13 stock splits. As of this writing, with Home Depot trading around $392 per share, that investment would be worth $133,672.
The icing on the cake? You'd be pocketing over $3,000 annually in reliable dividend income.
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