Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) CTO Sells $45,709.80 in Stock

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) 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 transaction of $45,709.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 62,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,300.80. The trade was a 14.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Autohome Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE ATHM opened at $17.57 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.23. Autohome Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.57 and a 12 month high of $29.92.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last issued its earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The information services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Autohome had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 5.01%. The company had revenue of $208.96 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Autohome Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Autohome Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. HSBC cut shares of Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Autohome in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $17.15.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Autohome during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Autohome by 205.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in shares of Autohome by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 3,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Autohome by 30.5% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Autohome by 141.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares during the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.