Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 36 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 921 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.20.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,583 shares of company stock worth $533,455 over the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $303.21 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $295.76 and its 200 day moving average is $339.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.04 and a twelve month high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.93%.

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.