Principal Securities Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,358 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 3,592 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in F. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 4.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,609,058 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,294,752,000 after buying an additional 5,270,562 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,989,157 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $863,009,000 after buying an additional 1,336,676 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 2.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 24,347,303 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $257,108,000 after buying an additional 636,330 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 112.8% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 11,976,950 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $126,477,000 after buying an additional 6,348,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 0.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 11,639,886 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $122,917,000 after buying an additional 84,600 shares in the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on F. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $19.00 to $15.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.89.

Ford Motor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE F opened at $9.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Ford Motor has a 52 week low of $9.10 and a 52 week high of $14.85.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

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.