Orser Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Orser Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,142 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Home Depot accounts for approximately 3.1% of Orser Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Orser Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $3,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.4% in the first quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 98,795 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $29,156,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the first quarter valued at $1,332,000. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in Home Depot by 7.2% in the first quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 727 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Home Depot by 20.2% in the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 132,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $39,081,000 after acquiring an additional 22,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 3.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 101,411 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $29,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,984 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on Home Depot from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Home Depot from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Home Depot from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Home Depot from $370.00 to $384.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Home Depot from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.62.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock opened at $317.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $325.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.38. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.61 and a 52-week high of $347.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.53, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 15th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.20. Home Depot had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 1,424.89%. The firm had revenue of $42.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $2.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $8.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 52.22%.

Home Depot announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the home improvement retailer to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total transaction of $522,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,281 shares in the company, valued at $2,705,319.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 6,091 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.22, for a total transaction of $1,974,824.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,375,680.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.69, for a total transaction of $522,704.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,705,319.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,811 shares of company stock worth $6,441,376. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Profile

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.