American International Group Inc. Sells 1,658 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

American International Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,658 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Lithia Motors worth $12,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of 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 worth $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at $566,847.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LAD shares. Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.45.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $251.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.62. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.36 and a 12 month high of $331.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 15.62%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.44 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.26%.

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.