South Dakota Investment Council Sells 3,200 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 37.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 35,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,385,000 after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 95.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 12,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,736,000 after acquiring an additional 6,181 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 93.2% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,780,000 after acquiring an additional 4,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth approximately $4,608,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LAD. Evercore ISI began coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $334.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $248.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $285.26 and a 200 day moving average of $284.10. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.69 and a 12 month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 5.51%.

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.