Nuveen LLC Acquires New Shares in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in Ford Motor Company, purchasing approximately 12.3 million shares valued at about $123.15 million, now holding 0.31% of the company.
• Wall Street analysts have revised their ratings on Ford, with some upgrading the stock from "underperform" to "peer perform," and average price targets ranging from $9.00 to $11.00.
• Ford recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 5.2%, with the payout ratio currently at 76.92%.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,277,870 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $123,147,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Ford Motor at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Ford Motor by 289.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,533 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ford Motor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ford Motor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.74% of the company's stock.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:F traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.44. 38,605,219 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 100,195,773. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $11.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.10. Ford Motor Company has a 1-year low of $8.44 and a 1-year high of $11.97. The company has a market capitalization of $45.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.48.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 1.70%. The company had revenue of $50.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Ford Motor news, insider Andrew Frick sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,253,329. The trade was a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on F. Dbs Bank cut shares of Ford Motor from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ford Motor from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.53.

Ford Motor Company Profile

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.