Bank of America Corp DE Trims Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,636 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,871 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.21% of Lithia Motors worth $19,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,740 shares of the company's stock worth $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 37,984 shares of the company's stock worth $13,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 138,688 shares of the company's stock worth $49,571,000 after purchasing an additional 24,588 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total transaction of $99,731.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,974.08. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 855 shares of company stock worth $252,536 in the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAD. Guggenheim cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $3.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $311.26. 239,428 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,393. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $299.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.04 and a one year high of $405.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 6.93%.

About Lithia Motors

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.