Bell Asset Management Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Bell Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 39.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,202 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 4,754 shares during the period. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Financially Speaking Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. This trade represents a 17.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,566 shares in the company, valued at $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,513 shares of company stock worth $2,689,515 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $420.00 to $405.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $381.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $416.00.

Key Stories 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

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $358.28 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.31 and a 52 week high of $426.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $373.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $378.45. 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 company has a market cap 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.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

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.