Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Position Trimmed by Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lowered its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,608,133 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,770 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up about 2.0% of Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned approximately 6.04% of Lithia Motors worth $574,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.2 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $289.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $342.75. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.