Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 40,056 Shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,311,501 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after selling 40,056 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Ford Motor worth $43,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 289.1% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,533 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ford Motor in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ford Motor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on F. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ford Motor from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ford Motor from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ford Motor from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Ford Motor from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $9.40 to $7.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.03.

Ford Motor Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:F traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $11.60. 73,776,277 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,908,281. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.49. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $10.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.01. Ford Motor Company has a 12-month low of $8.44 and a 12-month high of $14.85.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $40.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.99 billion. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 2.74%. Ford Motor's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor Company will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.00%.

Insider Activity at Ford Motor

In related news, insider Andrew Frick sold 30,000 shares of Ford Motor stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 113,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,253,329. This trade represents a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.