Auto Owners Insurance Co Lowers Stake in Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC)

Auto Owners Insurance Co lessened its position in shares of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC - Free Report) by 68.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 245,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 533,650 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co's holdings in Honda Motor were worth $6,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Honda Motor in the fourth quarter worth about $23,272,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,099,698 shares of the company's stock worth $31,396,000 after buying an additional 452,624 shares during the period. Tiger Pacific Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Honda Motor in the fourth quarter worth about $8,225,000. LMR Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 2,077.5% in the fourth quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 225,000 shares of the company's stock worth $6,424,000 after buying an additional 214,667 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Honda Motor by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,594,299 shares of the company's stock worth $45,517,000 after buying an additional 158,072 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HMC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Honda Motor in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Honda Motor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Honda Motor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Macquarie lowered shares of Honda Motor from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Honda Motor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Honda Motor Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE HMC opened at $30.43 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.97. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has a 52-week low of $23.41 and a 52-week high of $33.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.54). Honda Motor had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 6.33%. The firm had revenue of $36.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,371.99 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Honda Motor

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.

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