Fundsmith LLP Grows Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Fundsmith LLP grew its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,860 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $34,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,310,031 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $39,834,241,000 after purchasing an additional 331,217 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Home Depot by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,015,836 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $16,871,246,000 after purchasing an additional 300,352 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,568,860 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,341,724,000 after purchasing an additional 153,582 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,885,603,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Home Depot by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,400,133 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,619,229,000 after purchasing an additional 30,739 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Home Depot

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $405.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $412.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $416.00.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $338.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $337.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $326.31 and a 12-month high of $426.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $373.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $376.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. 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. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 65.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $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. 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.