Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $26.54 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,635 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.28% of Lithia Motors worth $26,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 in the last 90 days. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of LAD opened at $296.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.60. 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 $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.