Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Stock Position Decreased by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Lithia Motors stake by 42.2% in the first quarter, selling 3,836 shares and retaining 5,258 shares valued at approximately $1.31 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with seven analysts rating LAD a Buy and five a Hold. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $425.20.
• Lithia Motors exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70, and authorized a $500 million share repurchase program covering up to 7.9% of shares.

Amundi trimmed its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 42.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,258 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,836 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 716 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.20.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $374.40 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $322.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $439.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.24 earnings per share. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 7.56%.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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