Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 38.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,958 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,080 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,409,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,490,000 after acquiring an additional 21,168 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 570.8% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 6,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 140.7% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,661 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 3.3%

LAD opened at $357.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $333.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.43. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.24 EPS. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.29%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.22.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% 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 Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 537 shares of company stock valued at $157,385 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors 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.