Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 680,468 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,049 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $275,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Financially Speaking Inc purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter worth $32,000. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth $38,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $444.00 to $423.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $391.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.00.

Key Headlines Impacting 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 at Home Depot

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

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock opened at $358.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $356.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $326.31 and a 52-week high of $426.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $373.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $378.45.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

Home Depot 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.