California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,277 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.13% of Lithia Motors worth $12,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.4 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $281.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $334.52 and a 200 day moving average of $343.34.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

About Lithia Motors

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.