Argent Trust Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Argent Trust Co trimmed its stake in Ford Motor (NYSE:F – Get Rating) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,821 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 10,465 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in F. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 27,339 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 111,481 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 81,783 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 325,778 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 47,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 564,002 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $9,537,000 after acquiring an additional 16,498 shares in the last quarter. 49.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ford Motor Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:F opened at $11.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. Ford Motor has a 1-year low of $10.61 and a 1-year high of $16.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The auto manufacturer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.27. Ford Motor had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 19.99%. The firm had revenue of $39.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 25th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on F shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ford Motor from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered shares of Ford Motor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Ford Motor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $12.50 to $12.80 in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ashwani Kumar Galhotra sold 24,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.01, for a total transaction of $323,298.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 511,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,655,981.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Ford Motor news, CEO James D. Farley, Jr. sold 79,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total transaction of $1,027,784.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,638,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,073,257.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ashwani Kumar Galhotra sold 24,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.01, for a total transaction of $323,298.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 511,605 shares in the company, valued at $6,655,981.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,592 shares of company stock valued at $1,740,843. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Ford Motor

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Ford Motor Co engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of automobiles. It operates through the following segments: Ford Blue, Ford Model E, and Ford Pro, Ford Next, and Ford Credit. The Ford Blue, Ford Model E, and Ford Pro segment includes the sale of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories, together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute, and service the vehicles, parts, and accessories.