Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $57.71 Million Stock Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,524 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,173 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $57,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of HD opened at $332.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.97. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

Home Depot 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.