Verus Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,760 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 3,571 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Ford Motor by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,998,000 after buying an additional 336,720 shares during the period. NCP Inc. raised its position in shares of Ford Motor by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 74,520 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 28,528 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ford Motor by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,394,681 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $46,408,000 after buying an additional 160,409 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,456,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 91,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

Shares of F stock opened at $9.54 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.42. The company has a market cap of $37.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.63. Ford Motor has a 12 month low of $9.10 and a 12 month high of $14.85.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a net margin of 3.18% and a return on equity of 16.88%. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors 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 6.29%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on F shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $12.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Ford Motor to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.89.

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.