Factorial Partners LLC Has $323,000 Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Factorial Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 46.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,120 shares during the period. Factorial Partners LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $327.50.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $262.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $274.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.