First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 4,718 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 776,074 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,718 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $314,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financially Speaking Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $29,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Home Depot from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $413.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Home Depot from $450.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Home Depot from $413.00 to $409.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “sell” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Twenty investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $416.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $358.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $373.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $378.81. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.31 and a 1-year high of $426.75. The stock has a market cap of $356.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $38.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.01 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 134.32%. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a $2.33 dividend. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 64.65%.

Trending Headlines about Home Depot

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

• Positive Sentiment: Launched a real‑time GPS delivery tracker for big & bulky materials aimed at Pro customers — this product should reduce jobsite downtime, deepen contractor relationships and increase service stickiness for Home Depot’s high-value Pro channel. PR Newswire: Delivery Tracker
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish media endorsement from Jim Cramer — he flagged HD as a core holding for when rates are cut, which can lift investor interest in cyclical/interest-rate-sensitive names. MSN: Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased to $2.33 quarterly (annualized $9.32, ~2.6% yield) — supports income investor demand and underscores management’s confidence in cash flow. MarketBeat: HD overview
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional repositioning — several smaller institutional buys reported in Q4 but overall ownership remains concentrated (≈71% institutional). These moves are incremental and not large directional shifts. MarketBeat: Institutional activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst coverage — majority of analysts rate HD Buy/Moderate Buy with a consensus target above the current price, but several firms trimmed targets recently; investors watch revisions for guidance on earnings momentum. Yahoo: Buy/Sell/Hold discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CFO Richard McPhail sold 2,550 shares (~$940k). Insider sales can prompt short‑term selling or investor caution even when not uncommon. InsiderTrades: CFO sale
• Negative Sentiment: Top‑line softness and valuation pressure — Q4 revenue fell ~3.8% YoY despite an EPS beat, and some commentary/articles flag valuation concerns relative to growth. High leverage (debt/equity ~3.6) and a payout ratio near ~65% increase sensitivity to slower sales. Yahoo: Delivery tracker + valuation note

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total value of $51,947.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,320 shares in the company, valued at $4,413,763.20. The trade was a 1.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total value of $1,000,949.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. This represents a 17.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,513 shares of company stock worth $2,689,515. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.