Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 1,673 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,375 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,673 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.97% of Lithia Motors worth $56,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Lithia Motors by 101.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $348.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE LAD opened at $334.59 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.