Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 548,566 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,488 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.06% of Home Depot worth $213,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of HD stock opened at $363.97 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $393.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $399.16. The company has a market capitalization of $361.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

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.