Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,690,570 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 134,453 shares during the period. Home Depot makes up about 0.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Home Depot worth $657,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Home Depot by 21,394.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $793,486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030,372 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter worth approximately $336,231,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Home Depot by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,554,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,925,498,000 after buying an additional 599,490 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $362.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $359.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.66%.

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.