State of Michigan Retirement System Has $14.43 Million Position in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,457,879 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 51,700 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $14,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in F. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ford Motor by 29.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $15,998,000 after acquiring an additional 336,720 shares in the last quarter. NCP Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 28,528 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $46,408,000 after purchasing an additional 160,409 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,456,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in Ford Motor by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 196,100 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after buying an additional 91,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Ford Motor Trading Down 2.7 %

F opened at $9.14 on Wednesday. Ford Motor has a twelve month low of $9.06 and a twelve month high of $14.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.74 and a 200-day moving average of $10.40. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 6.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.57%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on F shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. BNP Paribas raised Ford Motor to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays downgraded Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.89.

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.