Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Lithia Motors stake by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,056 shares and ending with 45,134 shares valued at about $15 million.
• Lithia Motors reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $7.34 versus the $7.06 estimate and revenue of $9.27 billion, up 1.0% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $500 million share buyback and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $368.11.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,134 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,056 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.19% of Lithia Motors worth $14,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,409,000. Hook Mill Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $29,130,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 57.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 197,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,691,000 after acquiring an additional 72,061 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 6,341.6% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 57,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,157,000 after purchasing an additional 56,567 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 42.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 187,997 shares of the company's stock worth $63,514,000 after purchasing an additional 55,631 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.7%

LAD stock opened at $295.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The company's 50 day moving average is $272.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.60.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction 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 owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.11.

About Lithia Motors

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.

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