Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group reduced its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,442 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.34% of Lithia Motors worth $32,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 68,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,742,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 523.0% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $540,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $296.04 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.68. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $337.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $343.60.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 over the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors 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.