Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 306,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255,947 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $97,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $382.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $344.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.23. 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 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.65.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

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.