Principal Securities Inc. Sells 16,139 Shares of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC)

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its stake in Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) by 89.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,139 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Honda Motor were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Honda Motor by 1.5% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Honda Motor by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 5,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Honda Motor by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 40,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Honda Motor by 0.6% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 82,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,628,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Honda Motor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 44,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HMC. StockNews.com raised Honda Motor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded Honda Motor from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Honda Motor Stock Performance

Shares of HMC stock opened at $27.68 on Friday. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has a 12 month low of $23.41 and a 12 month high of $37.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.17 and its 200 day moving average is $29.17.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $36.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.31 billion. Honda Motor had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 4.76%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Honda Motor Company Profile

Honda Motor Co, Ltd. develops, manufactures, and distributes motorcycles, automobiles, power, and other products in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Motorcycle Business, Automobile Business, Financial Services Business, and Power Product and Other Businesses.