Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $723,000 Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,784 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HD. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 1.4% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,649,448 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $668,340,000 after purchasing an additional 23,166 shares during the last quarter. FreeGulliver LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $288,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 179,377 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $72,682,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,026,794 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $414,928,000 after buying an additional 232,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Sun Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Sun Financial Corp now owns 976 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Home Depot News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating on HD, a vote of confidence from a major shop that can support investor sentiment and help stabilize the stock. TD Cowen Keeps Their Buy Rating on Home Depot (HD)
• Positive Sentiment: Home Depot is rolling out real‑time delivery tracking and other digital tools aimed at pros (material lists, quotes), which should boost repeat/pro sales and margins over time. This operational progress is being cited as a reason analysts still see upside. “Focus on Improving Customer Experience”: Home Depot Stock Notches Up as Live Tracking Gets Fleshed Out
• Positive Sentiment: New exclusive merchandising (Back to the Roots’ Organic Mushroom Compost at Home Depot) expands seasonal/garden assortments and supports in‑store traffic and SKU differentiation. Back to the Roots Expands Organic Soil Portfolio with Launch of Organic Mushroom Compost Exclusively at The Home Depot
• Neutral Sentiment: HD is a “trending” search on Zacks — useful for sentiment/flow but not a directional fundamental catalyst; Zacks also issued its Q1 earnings outlook, which investors will watch against results. The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Some outlets note analysts are “conflicted” — a mix of Buy and Hold ratings and diverging price targets increases volatility but also means upside if housing or rates improve. Analysts Conflicted on These Consumer Cyclical Names: Cracker Barrel (CBRL) and Home Depot (HD)
• Negative Sentiment: Recent loss‑prevention/PR incidents (“pretty privilege” testing) and related headlines have pressured the stock and raised short‑term reputational and operational risk. “Pretty Privilege” Tests Send Home Depot Stock Slumping
• Negative Sentiment: Macroeconomic headwinds — US CPI rose 0.3% in Feb and high mortgage rates — are cited as weighing on renovation demand and consumer discretionary exposure, a clear negative for HD’s top line. US CPI Up 0.3% in February: Consumer Discretionary ETFs to Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses flag softer home‑improvement demand and valuation pressure after recent headlines; these factors explain the recent share decline and raise the bar for near‑term catalysts. Assessing Home Depot (HD) Valuation After Loss Prevention Headlines And Softer Home Improvement Demand

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $338.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $337.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $373.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $376.81. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.31 and a 1-year high of $426.75.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $38.20 billion for 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 company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. 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 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 2.8%. 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 65.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Home Depot from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on Home Depot from $407.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,599,069.92. The trade was a 17.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total transaction of $940,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,439,951.74. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.