Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 57,270 Shares of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE:HMC - Free Report) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,875 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,270 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Honda Motor were worth $1,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Honda Motor during the fourth quarter valued at $23,272,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Honda Motor by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 668,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,074,000 after purchasing an additional 404,883 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Honda Motor by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 570,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,278,000 after purchasing an additional 66,030 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Honda Motor by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 500,097 shares of the company's stock worth $14,278,000 after buying an additional 31,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Honda Motor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,909,000. 5.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HMC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Honda Motor in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Honda Motor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Honda Motor Stock Performance

NYSE:HMC traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,314,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,781. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $28.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has a 12-month low of $23.41 and a 12-month high of $34.99.

Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.37. Honda Motor had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $36.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.31 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honda Motor Company 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.