Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 778,474 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,568 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.83% of Lithia Motors worth $256,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 15.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,481 shares of the company's stock worth $1,619,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $594,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.2% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,422 shares of the company's stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $32,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $318.55.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.0 %

LAD traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $274.73. 297,940 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,167. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $207.08 and a fifty-two week high of $331.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $275.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $284.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.59.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.61 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total value of $35,109.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,847.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

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.