Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Stake Reduced by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,061 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Abrams Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,009,000 after acquiring an additional 45,856 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,340,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,662,000 after purchasing an additional 14,015 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after purchasing an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,022,000 after purchasing an additional 11,859 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $148,540,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.2%

Lithia Motors stock opened at $262.19 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $251.00 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.90.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $399.00 to $366.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Company 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.