LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Decreases Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI trimmed its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,576 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,512 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for approximately 2.4% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $22,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HD. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,767,449,000 after purchasing an additional 433,126 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,819,679,000 after acquiring an additional 205,954 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 51,250.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 10.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after purchasing an additional 795,438 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,515,343 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,931,328,000 after purchasing an additional 100,139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded up $4.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $391.70. 3,172,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,672,708. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $406.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $385.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Melius Research began coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Home Depot

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States and internationally. 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.