Legato Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 48.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,961 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $366,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Lithia Motors by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $299,000. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $412,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.22.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of LAD opened at $276.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $268.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.