Schroder Investment Management Group Reduces Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 90,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,442 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $32,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $152,752,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,250,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $91,190,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $46,505,000. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after acquiring an additional 105,611 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 over the last ninety days. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.9 %

LAD stock opened at $296.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.60. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Lithia Motors Profile

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.