Voloridge Investment Management LLC Has $1.59 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 58.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,451 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,364 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC's holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Tabor Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,558,000. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $921,000. Finally, Stanley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,065,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total value of $99,731.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,974.08. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 855 shares of company stock worth $252,536. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of LAD stock traded down $3.40 on Monday, hitting $313.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 233,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.04 and a fifty-two week high of $405.68. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $299.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $335.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.11 earnings per share. Lithia Motors's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.