Bleakley Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,979 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Ford Motor by 835.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,059 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,839 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 1,997.9% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,035 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. sold 81,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total value of $982,119.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 168,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,038,386.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on F shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Ford Motor from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Ford Motor in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ford Motor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.18.

Ford Motor Price Performance

NYSE:F opened at $14.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.17. Ford Motor has a 52 week low of $9.63 and a 52 week high of $14.63. The firm has a market cap of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.35.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business had revenue of $42.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Ford Motor’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

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.