Empirical Finance LLC Sells 1,661 Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 133,888 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,661 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ford Motor by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,609,058 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,294,752,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270,562 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ford Motor by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,989,157 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $863,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,676 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $257,108,000 after buying an additional 636,330 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $126,477,000 after buying an additional 6,348,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 11,639,886 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $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.

Ford Motor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:F opened at $9.25 on Monday. Ford Motor has a twelve month low of $9.18 and a twelve month high of $14.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market cap of $36.76 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.06 and its 200 day moving average is $10.54.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ford Motor will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.49%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on F shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ford Motor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.04.

Ford Motor 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.