PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,457,515 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 71,845 shares during the quarter. Home Depot makes up about 0.9% of PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,074,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Fin Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 8,966 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 0.4% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 7,151 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,221,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.6% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 5,198 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 445 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Home Depot from $321.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Home Depot from $303.00 to $299.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $360.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.57.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD stock traded down $5.10 on Tuesday, hitting $303.09. The company had a trading volume of 628,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,614,420. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.37. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.26 and a 12-month high of $347.25. The stock has a market cap of $303.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.89.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.75 by $0.06. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,339.65% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $37.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. This represents a $8.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.66%.

Home Depot declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 12,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.40, for a total transaction of $3,943,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,770,144.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Kimberly R. Scardino sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,705,319.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 12,120 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.40, for a total transaction of $3,943,848.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,770,144.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,095 shares of company stock valued at $4,888,003 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Home Depot Company 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.