Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,806,308 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,040,577 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,542,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,918 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $10,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 7.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 0.7% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,526 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 14.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 11,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth about $496,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Home Depot

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

• Positive Sentiment: Foundation grants boost long‑term Pro pipeline — The Home Depot Foundation expanded its Path to Pro Education Grants with a $1 million 2026 investment (up to $10,000 per program) to upgrade trade training facilities and attract new skilled workers, supporting future professional contractor demand in Home Depot’s core customer segment. Home Depot Targets Skilled Labor Gap To Support Long Term Pro Demand PR Newswire: Path to Pro Grants
• Positive Sentiment: Rising big‑ticket purchases driven by Pro customers — Q4 data shows an increase in transactions >$1,000 and higher average ticket, suggesting professional customers are spending more even as overall transaction counts soften; supports revenue quality and margins if trend continues. Home Depot Sees Higher Big Ticket Sales Zacks: Big Ticket Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider/official selling noted but immaterial — Filings show Senator Sheldon Whitehouse sold just over $5K of HD stock; routine small sales by public figures draw attention but are not large enough to signal a major insider shift. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Sold HD Stock American Banking News: Insider Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/opinion pieces weigh long‑term case vs. peers — Coverage comparing Home Depot to peers like Costco and ‘things to know before you buy’ pieces provide context on valuation and risks but don’t present new company-specific catalysts. Costco vs. Home Depot analysis Fool: 3 Things to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have pulled back amid weaker housing turnover and cautious consumers — Coverage highlighting an ~8% monthly slide points to macro headwinds (slower housing activity, lower transactions) that could pressure near‑term comps and guidance if trends persist. Home Depot Slides 8% in a Month Zacks: Slide 8% Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Loss‑prevention incidents drew attention — Reports of an incident-packed weekend and heightened shoplifting activity prompted headlines about operational risk and inventory loss, a potential margin headwind if elevated. TipRanks: Loss Prevention Story

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Home Depot from $444.00 to $423.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Home Depot from $413.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $416.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $51,947.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 owned 44,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. 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 valued at $2,689,515. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $357.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $426.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $373.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $377.75. The firm has a market cap of $355.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 12.71 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $38.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter 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 analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.