Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 158,861 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 5,860 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $1,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 289.1% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,533 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ford Motor during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ford Motor during the first quarter valued at $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ford Motor during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ford Motor Price Performance

Ford Motor stock opened at $11.44 on Friday. Ford Motor Company has a 12-month low of $8.44 and a 12-month high of $11.97. The stock has a market cap of $45.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $50.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Ford Motor’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ford Motor Company will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ford Motor

In other Ford Motor news, insider Andrew Frick sold 30,000 shares of Ford Motor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 113,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,253,329. This trade represents a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

F has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ford Motor from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ford Motor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.53.

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.