Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $3.68 Million Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its Lithia Motors stake by 1,062.8% in Q4, ending with 11,070 shares valued at about $3.68 million.
• Lithia Motors reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $7.34 versus estimates of $7.06 and revenue of $9.27 billion, up 1% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share from $0.55, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $367.22.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 1,062.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,070 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,118 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Hook Mill Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,130,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 197,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,691,000 after buying an additional 72,061 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6,341.6% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 57,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,157,000 after buying an additional 56,567 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 42.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 187,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,514,000 after buying an additional 55,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 175.6% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 81,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,727,000 after buying an additional 51,873 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $276.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.84. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.66 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.26 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 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.22.

Lithia Motors Company 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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