South Dakota Investment Council Decreases Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 37.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,233 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,054,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.2% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company's stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $320.82.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE LAD traded up $9.39 during trading on Thursday, reaching $257.73. 783,441 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 222,344. The firm has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $284.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.69 and a 12-month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The company's revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.51%.

About Lithia Motors

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.