Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Ford Motor Company $F

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ford by 0.9% in Q4, buying 4,087,699 shares to hold 471,705,454 shares (an 11.84% stake) valued at about $6.19 billion.
• Ford beat quarterly estimates with $0.13 EPS (vs. $0.06 consensus) and $45.89B in revenue (vs. $41.78B), but reported a negative net margin (-4.37%) and revenue was down 4.8% year‑over‑year; analysts' consensus rating is Hold with a $13.66 target.
• Ford declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.60) for a ~4.8% yield, while the company has a market cap of ~$49.4B, a negative P/E (-6.01) and a high debt-to-equity ratio (2.95).

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 471,705,454 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,087,699 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.84% of Ford Motor worth $6,188,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 81.1% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,438,722 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $423,847,000 after purchasing an additional 15,866,285 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ford Motor by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 35,390,868 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $423,275,000 after buying an additional 1,597,841 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Ford Motor during the 3rd quarter valued at $299,000,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 190.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 11,006,776 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $131,641,000 after buying an additional 7,220,686 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,326,030 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $111,539,000 after buying an additional 266,200 shares during the period. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

F opened at $12.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $49.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.01, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.70. Ford Motor Company has a 1-year low of $9.86 and a 1-year high of $14.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.98. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.07. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. The firm had revenue of $45.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ford Motor Company will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio is presently -29.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ford Motor news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. acquired 140,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.82 per share, for a total transaction of $1,934,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,912,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,072,132. The trade was a 3.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on F. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Ford Motor from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ford Motor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ford Motor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.66.

About Ford Motor

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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