Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 9.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,323,945 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 135,416 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $485,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HD. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its position in Home Depot by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 563 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 2,137 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Insights Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 3.3% during the first quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $393.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.77.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $372.05 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $326.31 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The company has a market cap of $370.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $364.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $376.86.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 242.51%. The company had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Fahim Siddiqui sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.14, for a total value of $954,564.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,130.14. This represents a 24.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.28, for a total value of $1,996,327.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,367 shares in the company, valued at $6,413,285.76. This trade represents a 23.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.