Swiss National Bank Sells 2,560 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,560 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.21% of Lithia Motors worth $11,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,583,000 after buying an additional 6,113 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after buying an additional 186,628 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after buying an additional 33,966 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $125,214,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $348.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.33.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $341.04 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $360.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $302.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.13. The company has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 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 paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.01%.

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

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.