Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its Ford Motor Company holdings by 20.7%, acquiring an additional 48,355 shares, bringing its total to 281,901 shares valued at approximately $2.83 million.
• Ford's shares recently declined by 1.7%, trading at $10.89, with a market cap of $43.30 billion and a twelve-month high of $11.97.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.51% and a payout ratio of 48%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F - Free Report) by 20.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 281,901 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 48,355 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $2,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 1.7% in the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 62,199 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Partners Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ford Motor by 8.4% during the first quarter. Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,903 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 53,324 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 7.6% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 16,203 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ford Motor by 4.3% during the first quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,555 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ford Motor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.40.

Ford Motor Price Performance

NYSE:F traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.80. 73,499,128 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,985,367. Ford Motor Company has a 52-week low of $8.44 and a 52-week high of $11.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $42.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.49.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $50.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.91 billion. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.70%. The business's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor Company will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio is 48.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew Frick sold 30,000 shares of Ford Motor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 113,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,253,329. The trade was a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments.