Rhumbline Advisers Has $27.69 Million Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 691 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.29% of Lithia Motors worth $27,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $352,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $364.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $363.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,097 shares of company stock worth $7,904,969. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.