Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD – Get Rating) by 1.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,498 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Home Depot accounts for about 2.0% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $2,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HD. Rinkey Investments bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Tobam bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 135.0% in the 1st quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC now owns 94 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 68.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their target price on Home Depot from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Home Depot from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 17th. MKM Partners initiated coverage on Home Depot in a report on Thursday, June 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Home Depot to $334.00 in a report on Monday, August 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.95.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

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In related news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.59, for a total transaction of $300,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,180 shares in the company, valued at $1,857,646.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Matt Carey sold 12,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.26, for a total value of $4,000,689.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,917,927.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.59, for a total value of $300,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,180 shares in the company, valued at $1,857,646.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of HD opened at $266.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 165.70, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $264.51 and a 1 year high of $420.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.74. The firm has a market cap of $272.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.99.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 16th. The home improvement retailer reported $5.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.95 by $0.10. Home Depot had a negative return on equity of 3,166.43% and a net margin of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $43.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 31st. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.71%.

Home Depot announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 18th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the home improvement retailer to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Home Depot Company Profile

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The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer. It operates The Home Depot stores that sell 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, cabinets and cabinet makeovers, countertops, furnaces and central air systems, and windows.

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