Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. Sells 1,428 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lessened its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 72.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 553 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,428 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.1%

LAD stock traded down $3.70 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $318.39. The company had a trading volume of 272,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,481. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.04 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The company has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.89 and a 200 day moving average of $339.18. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.11 earnings per share. Lithia Motors's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,219.48. This trade represents a 16.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 855 shares of company stock valued at $252,536. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

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.