Swedbank AB Lowers Stock Position in Autohome Inc. $ATHM

Swedbank AB cut its stake in shares of Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) by 74.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 26,086 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Autohome were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,968,365 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $227,497,000 after purchasing an additional 868,151 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in Autohome by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,308,693 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $95,912,000 after purchasing an additional 20,228 shares during the period. M&G PLC lifted its stake in Autohome by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,420,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,243,000 after purchasing an additional 413,287 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Autohome by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,852,839 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $63,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,682,506 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $59,713,000 after buying an additional 39,969 shares during the period. 63.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autohome Stock Down 0.9%

ATHM stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 693,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,914. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.23. Autohome Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.57 and a 52-week high of $29.92.

Autohome Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total transaction of $105,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 169,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,239. The trade was a 12.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 10,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total value of $45,709.80. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 62,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,300.80. This trade represents a 14.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autohome has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.15.

Autohome Profile

Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates one of China’s leading online destinations for automobile consumers, offering a comprehensive suite of digital platforms and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. Headquartered in Beijing, the company’s core website and mobile applications deliver news, reviews, pricing information, photos, videos and interactive tools to help prospective buyers evaluate new and used vehicles. By aggregating rich editorial content with user-generated ratings and expert analyses, Autohome seeks to guide consumers through research, purchase and after-sales decision-making.

In addition to its consumer-facing properties, Autohome provides automakers, dealers and service providers with integrated digital marketing and e-commerce solutions.