Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $79.44 Million Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 239,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,270 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $79,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $125,214,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $58,409,000. Hook Mill Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $29,130,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 197,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,691,000 after acquiring an additional 72,061 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 6,341.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 57,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,157,000 after acquiring an additional 56,567 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $313.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.85.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 707 shares of company stock worth $205,947 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Profile

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.