Man Group plc Cuts Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Man Group plc lowered its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,269 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,755 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.17% of Lithia Motors worth $15,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,968,000 after purchasing an additional 27,035 shares during the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 510,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,428,000 after acquiring an additional 11,674 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $152,752,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 362,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,398,000 after acquiring an additional 55,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $113,250,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 855 shares of company stock valued at $252,536. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded down $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $306.63. The stock had a trading volume of 28,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,785. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.04 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm's fifty day moving average is $298.82 and its 200 day moving average is $338.55. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.11 EPS. The business's revenue 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. 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 yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 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.