Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 166,708 call options on the company. This is an increase of 68% compared to the average daily volume of 99,517 call options.

Insider Transactions at Ford Motor

In related news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. acquired 140,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.82 per share, with a total value of $1,934,800.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,912,600 shares in the company, valued at $54,072,132. This represents a 3.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,903 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 108.4% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 2,365 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on F shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ford Motor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ford Motor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.56.

Ford Motor Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE F traded down $0.28 on Monday, hitting $12.05. 48,719,346 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,857,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.65. Ford Motor has a 52-week low of $9.88 and a 52-week high of $14.80.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $43.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.66 billion. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 3.22% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. Ford Motor’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ford Motor will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is presently -38.71%.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the company became an early pioneer of mass-production techniques with the Model T and the adoption of the moving assembly line. Today, Ford designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility solutions under the Ford and Lincoln brands, spanning passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and commercial vehicles.

Ford’s business activities extend beyond vehicle production to include parts and aftermarket services, fleet and commercial sales, and automotive financing through Ford Motor Credit Company.