Horizon Investments LLC Sells 4,277 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Horizon Investments LLC trimmed its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 93.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,277 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,272,000 after purchasing an additional 45,716 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,407 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth about $651,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.22.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $293.70 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $267.24 and its 200 day moving average is $302.20. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

About Lithia Motors

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.