LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Sells 2,512 Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lessened its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. 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 large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 27.6% during the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $9,348,000 after buying an additional 5,879 shares during the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Home Depot by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Home Depot by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 14.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 673,876 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $273,055,000 after purchasing an additional 84,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.8 %

HD stock traded up $2.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $390.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,321,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,061,442. The firm's 50-day moving average is $406.15 and its 200-day moving average is $385.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a market cap of $387.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on HD shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Company Profile

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.