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

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,323,945 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 135,416 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Home Depot worth $485,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 99,400.7% in the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 18,975,772 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,954,431,000 after acquiring an additional 18,956,701 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $5,032,910,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 39,194.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,236,903 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,517,230,000 after acquiring an additional 10,210,851 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,212,546,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HD. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $424.00 to $399.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $461.00 to $456.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $410.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.77.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

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

Home Depot Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of HD stock traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $371.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,573,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,438,130. The company has a market cap of $369.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $364.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $376.86. The Home Depot, Inc. has a one year low of $326.31 and a one year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). Home Depot had a return on equity of 242.51% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Home Depot's payout ratio is 62.42%.

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.