Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,345,909 Shares of Ford Motor Company $F

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc sold 2,345,909 shares of Ford, trimming its stake by 6.8% to 31,955,453 shares (about 0.80% of Ford) valued at roughly $382.2 million.
• Ford beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.13 vs. $0.06 expected and revenue of $45.89 billion, but reported a negative net margin (-4.37%) and revenue down 4.8% YoY; the company pays a $0.60 annual dividend (5.0% yield).
• William Clay Ford, Jr. bought 140,000 shares at about $13.82, raising his holdings to ~3.91 million shares, indicating insider buying activity.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F - Free Report) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,955,453 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after selling 2,345,909 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.80% of Ford Motor worth $382,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ford Motor by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 467,617,755 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $5,592,708,000 after buying an additional 5,371,758 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 3.7% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 145,172,134 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $1,575,118,000 after acquiring an additional 5,118,228 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 17.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,784,031 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $1,122,434,000 after acquiring an additional 15,748,694 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the 2nd quarter worth about $405,328,000. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter worth about $299,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.74% of the company's stock.

Ford Motor Trading Down 1.2%

F stock opened at $12.10 on Thursday. Ford Motor Company has a 12 month low of $8.44 and a 12 month high of $14.80. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.62 and its 200 day moving average is $12.93. The company has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a PE ratio of -5.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $45.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.78 billion. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor Company will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Ford Motor's payout ratio is presently -29.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on F. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore upped their target price on Ford Motor from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ford Motor from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. acquired 140,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.82 per share, with a total value of $1,934,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 3,912,600 shares in the company, valued at $54,072,132. This trade represents a 3.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Ford Motor Company Profile

Ford Motor Company NYSE: F is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the company became an early pioneer of mass-production techniques with the Model T and the adoption of the moving assembly line. Today, Ford designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility solutions under the Ford and Lincoln brands, spanning passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and commercial vehicles.

Ford's business activities extend beyond vehicle production to include parts and aftermarket services, fleet and commercial sales, and automotive financing through Ford Motor Credit Company.

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