Boston Partners Sells 3,099 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Boston Partners cut its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,099 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.18% of Lithia Motors worth $15,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.10.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $318.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.61. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.10 and a fifty-two week high of $405.14. The company has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.37%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.