EntryPoint Capital LLC Sells 115 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

EntryPoint Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 497.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $731,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $319.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $343.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $342.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

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.