California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 10,821 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 24.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,118 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,821 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.15% of Lithia Motors worth $8,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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 fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Lithia Motors by 101.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 over the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of LAD opened at $341.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $360.55. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results 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. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Lithia Motors from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.33.

Lithia Motors 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.