Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 20,878 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,878 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $25,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LAD. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.20.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 16.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 855 shares of company stock worth $252,536 in the last ninety days. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.5%

LAD stock opened at $322.05 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.04 and a twelve month high of $405.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $297.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $339.18. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.93%.

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.