5 Best Retail Dividend Stocks to Buy

2. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 70

Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) earlier this year announced a 7.7% increase to its quarterly dividend. It is one of the best dividend stocks to buy according to hedge funds as 70 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) as of the end of 2023.

ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy made the following comment about The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) has long been a leader in advancing sustainable forestry, and its wood products can have a significant impact, as timber rates at the top of high-risk commodities responsible for most agriculture-related deforestation (Exhibit 3). The home improvement retailer adopted its first wood purchasing policy in 1999, pledging to give preference to sustainably sourced wood and to eliminate wood purchases from endangered regions around the world.

Biodiversity-boosting efforts at Home Depot have included tracing the origin of all the wood products it sells. This forms part of the process of verifying sustainable production, which it does using the certification standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Since 2000 Home Depot has developed programs to purchase FSC wood products, such as doors, boards and patio furniture, from over 60 global suppliers. It has also moved more than 90% of its cedar purchases to second-and third-growth forests, with the rest coming from areas with local community stakeholder review.”