Ford Motor Sees Significant Institutional Interest Despite Market Volatility
Ford Motor Company has been making news as institutional investors change their holdings in the manufacturer. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its Ford holdings by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, purchasing an additional 194,555 shares for 634,841 shares worth $6.29 million.
Institutional investors are betting big on Ford:
Institutional investors and hedge funds have been aggressively buying and selling Ford shares, expressing varying views on the company’s future success. Some significant movements are:
- Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. doubled down on its Ford bet in Q3, raising its holdings by 112.8% to 11.97 million shares worth $126.48 million.
- Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings by 4.5% to 122.61 million shares worth $1.29 billion.
- Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its Ford holdings by 420.2%, acquiring an extra 4.88 million shares.
- Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC made a fresh $55.46 million investment in the company.
- National Pension Service increased its investment by 19.7% to 10.12 million shares, worth $106.82 million.
Ford’s earnings exceeded expectations:
Ford’s recent Q4 earnings release disclosed $0.39 EPS, above analysts’ forecasts of $0.35 EPS. The firm produced a 3.18% net margin and a 16.88% return on equity, demonstrating its financial strength. Leading experts have rated Ford’s stock as both optimistic and bearish.
- Wells Fargo: downgraded to underweight, cutting goal to $8.00.
- Bank of America: Maintains Buy but lowers target to $15.50.
- Jefferies downgraded to Underperform, lowering the objective to $9.00.
- Barclays downgraded to Equal Weight, lowering goal from $13.00 to $11.00.
- Evercore ISI: Reduced goal from $11.00 to $10.00 while keeping In-Line rating.
