California Public Employees Retirement System Has $15.54 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,207 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,485 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of Lithia Motors worth $15,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $1,345,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $160,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $2,535,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $459,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $320.82.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $254.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 266,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,073. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.69 and a 1-year high of $331.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $281.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.44 earnings per share. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 33.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.90%.

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.