Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,678 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $21,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $290.81 on Monday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $322.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.47. 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 (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. 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 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.91.

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.