Yan Zeng Sells 24,300 Shares of Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Stock

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of Autohome stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 169,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,239. The trade was a 12.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Autohome Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ATHM opened at $18.19 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, February 15th. The information services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $208.96 million during the quarter. Autohome had a return on equity of 5.01% and a net margin of 17.91%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Autohome Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Autohome Announces Dividend

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 $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. HSBC lowered Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.30 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research raised Autohome from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Autohome has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.15.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Autohome during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,889 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

About Autohome

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.