Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 57,182,803 Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 402,083,883 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,182,803 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Ford Motor worth $3,980,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Ford Motor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:F opened at $10.25 on Tuesday. 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 $40.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.75 and a 200 day moving average of $10.29.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ford Motor will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on F. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Ford Motor in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Ford Motor from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.50.

About Ford Motor

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.