The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Lithia Motors by 13.9% after selling 25,492 shares, leaving them with about 158,242 shares valued at $46.45 million.
• Lithia Motors recently reported quarterly earnings of $10.24 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and they declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share.
• The company authorized a share repurchase plan to buy back up to $750 million in outstanding shares, indicating the board's belief that the shares are currently undervalued.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 158,242 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,492 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.61% of Lithia Motors worth $46,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company's stock worth $164,524,000 after buying an additional 266,715 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter worth $36,762,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter worth $32,824,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,865.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 92,293 shares of the company's stock worth $27,092,000 after buying an additional 87,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 44,194.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 73,972 shares of the company's stock worth $21,714,000 after buying an additional 73,805 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAD. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $430.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.91.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE LAD traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $341.10. The stock had a trading volume of 186,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,226. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.31. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $255.32 and a one year high of $405.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.52%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.