Private Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Private Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 20.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 13,824 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up 3.1% of Private Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Private Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $16,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HD. Slow Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Kalos Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 68.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Home Depot from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Home Depot from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Home Depot from $314.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.62.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.2 %

Home Depot stock opened at $329.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.95. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.61 and a 12 month high of $347.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 15th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $42.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,424.89% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were paid a $2.09 dividend. This represents a $8.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.22%.

Home Depot declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the home improvement retailer to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total value of $522,704.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,705,319.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total value of $522,704.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,705,319.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 12,120 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.40, for a total value of $3,943,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,049 shares in the company, valued at $23,770,144.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,811 shares of company stock valued at $6,441,376 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

About Home Depot

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer. It sells various building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and décor products, as well as facilities maintenance, repair, and operations products. The company also offers installation services for flooring, water heaters, bath, garage doors, cabinets, cabinet makeovers, countertops, sheds, furnaces and central air systems, and windows.