Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Trims Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 79,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,510,000 after acquiring an additional 11,315 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $271,000.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.45.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:LAD opened at $334.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $317.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.52%.

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.