Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 54,798 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,181 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Ford Motor in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ford Motor during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on F shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lowered Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ford Motor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.67.

Ford Motor Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE F opened at $10.16 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.33 and its 200 day moving average is $10.87. Ford Motor has a 52 week low of $9.49 and a 52 week high of $14.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.64.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $46.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. Ford Motor had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.18%.

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.