BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $8.07 Million Stock Position in Autohome Inc. $ATHM

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,660 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,746 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.31% of Autohome worth $8,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATHM. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 868,151 shares in the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its position in Autohome by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 3,387,052 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $93,178,000 after buying an additional 678,214 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Autohome during the 4th quarter worth about $14,167,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in Autohome by 265.8% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 208,749 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,647,000 after buying an additional 151,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Autohome by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 595,970 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,266,000 after buying an additional 148,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ATHM shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC downgraded shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Autohome from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Autohome in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $17.15.

Autohome Trading Down 0.5%

Autohome stock opened at $17.28 on Wednesday. Autohome Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.57 and a 1 year high of $29.92. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.31.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The information services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $208.96 million for the quarter. Autohome had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 5.01%. Research analysts forecast that Autohome Inc. will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Autohome Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total value of $105,705.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 169,940 shares in the company, valued at $739,239. This trade represents a 12.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total transaction of $45,709.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 62,368 shares in the company, valued at $271,300.80. This represents a 14.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Autohome Company 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.