Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 69.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,683 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $6,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,679,000 after buying an additional 10,118 shares during the last quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,009,000 after buying an additional 45,856 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $58,409,000. Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,722,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 142,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,959,000 after buying an additional 16,226 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $304.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $360.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.56.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 617 shares of company stock worth $174,966. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.