Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 981.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 142,078 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 128,945 shares during the quarter. Home Depot comprises 0.3% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $57,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HD. Brio Consultants LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 574 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Emprise Bank grew its holdings in Home Depot by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emprise Bank now owns 3,135 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.7% in the third quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 1,006 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. BWM Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% in the second quarter. BWM Planning LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% during the second quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In related news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of Home Depot 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total transaction of $51,947.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,320 shares in the company, valued at $4,413,763.20. The trade was a 1.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,513 shares of company stock worth $2,689,515. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Home Depot News

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HD. Evercore cut their target price on Home Depot from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Home Depot from $413.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Home Depot from $355.00 to $391.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial set a $424.00 price objective on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Home Depot from $413.00 to $409.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.00.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.9%

HD stock opened at $358.28 on Monday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.31 and a fifty-two week high of $426.75. The company 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $373.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $378.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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 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 company had revenue of $38.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed 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 is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 64.65%.

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.