Royce & Associates LP Has $1.37 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Royce & Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 16,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $219.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $245.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $338.10.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of LAD traded down $3.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $295.08. 10,255 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,586. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $329.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $306.98 and a 200-day moving average of $263.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.47.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.26 by $1.65. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.92 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 20.36%. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $12.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 37.98 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 8,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.47, for a total transaction of $2,719,163.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,707,851.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 8,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.47, for a total transaction of $2,719,163.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,707,851.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $620,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,622 shares in the company, valued at $3,602,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,131 shares of company stock worth $13,303,956 over the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.