Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Autohome Inc. $ATHM

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Autohome stake by 19.5% in the first quarter to 370,108 shares valued at approximately $6.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 63.08% of the company.
• Autohome paid a special dividend of $0.66 per share, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 183.97%. Two executives also sold shares to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Autohome has a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $17.15 price target, below its reported opening price of $23.45. Recent ratings included downgrades from several firms to “sell,” “strong sell,” or “hold.”

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM - Free Report) by 19.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 370,108 shares of the information services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 60,511 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.32% of Autohome worth $6,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ATHM. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Autohome by 12.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,968,365 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $227,497,000 after acquiring an additional 868,151 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in Autohome by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,308,693 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $95,912,000 after acquiring an additional 20,228 shares during the period. M&G PLC boosted its position in Autohome by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,420,121 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $75,243,000 after purchasing an additional 413,287 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Autohome by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,852,839 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $63,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,281 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Autohome by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,682,506 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $59,713,000 after purchasing an additional 39,969 shares during the period. 63.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 10,508 shares of Autohome stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total transaction of $45,709.80. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 62,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,300.80. This trade represents a 14.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Yan Zeng sold 24,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.35, for a total value of $105,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 169,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,239. This represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 Stock Performance

ATHM opened at $23.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.23. The firm's fifty day moving average is $19.98 and its 200 day moving average is $19.42. Autohome Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.57 and a fifty-two week high of $29.92.

Autohome Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Autohome's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATHM. Zacks Research cut shares of Autohome from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Autohome from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Autohome in a research report on Friday, July 17th. HSBC cut shares of Autohome from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $17.30 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Autohome from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Autohome has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $17.15.

Autohome 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.

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