Leuthold Group LLC Sells 367 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Leuthold Group LLC cut its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,062 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 367 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HD. Slow Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kalos Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.34% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HD traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $287.70. 647,592 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,593,796. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.31. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $347.25. The company has a market capitalization of $287.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $302.06 and its 200 day moving average is $306.36.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 15th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $42.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 1,424.89%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were paid a $2.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $8.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.22%.

Home Depot announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the home improvement retailer to reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $314.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $310.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $303.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.57.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total value of $1,974,824.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,375,680.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,049 shares in the company, valued at $23,770,144.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total value of $1,974,824.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,375,680.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,811 shares of company stock valued at $6,441,376. 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.