Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 915,344 Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 72.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 349,494 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 915,344 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $4,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 835.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,059 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,839 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Ford Motor during the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

F has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ford Motor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Ford Motor in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Ford Motor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.74.

Ford Motor Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of F opened at $12.43 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.80. Ford Motor has a one year low of $9.63 and a one year high of $15.42. The company has a market capitalization of $49.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $42.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

Insider Transactions at Ford Motor

In other Ford Motor news, CAO Mark Kosman sold 26,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total transaction of $337,031.94. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,988.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.