Perpetual Ltd Buys 2,838 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,127 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,838 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.36% of Lithia Motors worth $29,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mariner LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 4.1% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 33.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 35,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,385,000 after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Lithia Motors by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,992 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 95.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 12,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,736,000 after acquiring an additional 6,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,608,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total value of $35,109.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,847.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of LAD traded down $4.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $248.34. The company had a trading volume of 270,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,331. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $260.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.62. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.36 and a 52-week high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.44 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

About Lithia Motors

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.