Cadian Capital Management LP Trims Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Cadian Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,141 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,922 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up approximately 1.8% of Cadian Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Cadian Capital Management LP owned 0.33% of Lithia Motors worth $31,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $1,074,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,740 shares of the company's stock worth $4,554,000 after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 124,875 shares of the company's stock worth $44,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 37,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,736 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This trade represents a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,583 shares of company stock worth $533,455. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD traded up $2.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $306.54. The stock had a trading volume of 191,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,663. The company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.04 and a 1 year high of $405.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $295.53 and a 200 day moving average of $339.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.11 EPS. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 6.93%.

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.