American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stake in Honda Motor Co., Ltd. $HMC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Honda Motor Co., Ltd. by 5.8% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 529,249 shares valued at approximately $14.36 million.
• Other institutional investors also significantly boosted their holdings in Honda, with Bessemer Group Inc. raising its stake by 460.2% and Caitong International Asset Management increasing theirs by 1,166.9%.
• Honda Motor's stock recently faced mixed ratings from analysts, with Macquarie and Dbs Bank downgrading their ratings, while Wall Street Zen upgraded it from "sell" to "hold," resulting in a current consensus rating of "Hold."

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 529,249 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,152 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Honda Motor were worth $14,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Honda Motor during the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Honda Motor during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,051,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Honda Motor by 108.0% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 53,754 shares of the company's stock worth $1,458,000 after buying an additional 27,906 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Honda Motor by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 54,702 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 11,380 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Honda Motor by 1,166.9% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,255 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Honda Motor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Macquarie downgraded Honda Motor from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut shares of Honda Motor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Honda Motor Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:HMC traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.34. 444,683 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,089. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.84. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has a 12-month low of $23.41 and a 12-month high of $34.70.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $36.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.04 billion. Honda Motor had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 5.03%. On average, research analysts predict that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Honda Motor 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.