Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stake Lessened by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,416 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after acquiring an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,071,000 after acquiring an additional 6,252 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Lithia Motors by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,966,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $344.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $360.40 and its 200-day moving average is $339.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

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.