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

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings 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 SEC. The firm owned 548,566 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 12,488 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $213,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $363.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap 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 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $393.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $399.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.85.

About Home Depot

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.