Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 246.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,912 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,233 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up approximately 5.0% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $17,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Emprise Bank increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the third quarter. Emprise Bank now owns 3,135 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Home Depot News

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

• Positive Sentiment: SRS Distribution (Home Depot subsidiary) agreed to acquire Mingledorff’s, adding 42 HVAC locations across five southeastern states — expands HD’s Pro distribution footprint, strengthens HVAC capabilities, and increases total addressable market to roughly $1.2T. The Home Depot Subsidiary SRS Distribution Enters into Agreement to Acquire Wholesale HVAC Distributor Mingledorff’s
• Positive Sentiment: Home Depot is enhancing its digital Pro shopping experience with AI-driven project planning and management tools to help contractors manage materials, timelines and deliveries — a move that should improve retention, basket size and margins in the Pro channel. The Home Depot beefs up digital shopping experience for pros
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market commentaries (Zacks, Yahoo) show elevated investor attention and comparison pieces highlighting Home Depot as a watched blue‑chip — useful for flow/interest but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane cut its price target on HD from $391 to $348 and put a neutral rating on the stock — a valuation downgrade that can weigh on sentiment and near‑term share performance despite the company’s operational initiatives. BNP Paribas Exane price target cut

Home Depot Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of HD opened at $330.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.09. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $369.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.56. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52 week low of $320.26 and a 52 week high of $426.75.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $38.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $2.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares in the company, valued at $4,599,069.92. The trade was a 17.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Home Depot from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Home Depot from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Home Depot from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Home Depot from $407.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $414.52.

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.