VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Purchases New Holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ford Motor (NYSE:F) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,659 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ford Motor by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $15,998,000 after purchasing an additional 336,720 shares in the last quarter. NCP Inc. raised its holdings in Ford Motor by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 74,520 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 28,528 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 3.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,394,681 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $46,408,000 after buying an additional 160,409 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,456,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Ford Motor by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 196,100 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 91,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Ford Motor Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE F opened at $10.18 on Thursday. Ford Motor has a 12 month low of $9.06 and a 12 month high of $14.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $40.33 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.72 and its 200 day moving average is $10.31.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a net margin of 3.18% and a return on equity of 16.88%. Research analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.90%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is 41.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on F shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.68.

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.