Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 147,409 Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Free Report) by 143.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,303 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 147,409 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Ford Motor were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ford Motor by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares during the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ford Motor by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 21,305 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,394 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Ford Motor by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 45,465 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 10,679 shares during the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on F shares. Barclays downgraded Ford Motor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas raised Ford Motor to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Ford Motor from $19.00 to $15.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.89.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

Shares of Ford Motor stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.29. The company had a trading volume of 58,340,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,982,461. Ford Motor has a one year low of $9.10 and a one year high of $14.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.63.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 3.18%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio is 41.10%.

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.