Swiss National Bank Sells 900 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Lithia Motors worth $18,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, 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 value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $298.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $347.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. As a group, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

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.