Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Holdings Lessened by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,052 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after purchasing an additional 48,938 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,756,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $371.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $388.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $319.77 and its 200-day moving average is $285.34. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This represents a 20.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $1,258,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,269,320. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Company 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.