Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 336,720 Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 336,720 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $15,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ford Motor by 4.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,609,058 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,294,752,000 after buying an additional 5,270,562 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,989,157 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $863,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,676 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ford Motor by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,190,972 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $453,732,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793,944 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Ford Motor by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 31,823,353 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $399,066,000 after purchasing an additional 318,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Ford Motor by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 24,347,303 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $257,108,000 after purchasing an additional 636,330 shares during the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on F shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ford Motor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.83.

Ford Motor Price Performance

NYSE F opened at $9.88 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.62.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $46.20 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.18%.

About Ford Motor

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.