Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 5,208 Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,658 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,208 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,839 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Ford Motor during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Ford Motor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 58.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ford Motor Price Performance

F stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.21. 14,365,120 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,491,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.61. Ford Motor has a fifty-two week low of $9.63 and a fifty-two week high of $15.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.81.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The business had revenue of $42.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ford Motor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ford Motor from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ford Motor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ford Motor news, CAO Mark Kosman sold 26,898 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 is available at this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.