Lyrical Asset Management LP Increases Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 510,388 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,674 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors accounts for approximately 2.7% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned 1.92% of Lithia Motors worth $182,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,436,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 497.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,073.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 2,534 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $281.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $334.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $343.34. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

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.