Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 77,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 691 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $27,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,505,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,311,000 after acquiring an additional 120,749 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after acquiring an additional 105,611 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth approximately $26,071,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $4,534,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,097 shares of company stock worth $7,904,969. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LAD. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $364.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $337.17. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company’s Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.