Sendero Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Sendero Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Sendero Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $5,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% in the 1st quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,112,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,342 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth $58,825,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,840.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 181,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,359,000 after acquiring an additional 172,410 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth $36,762,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at $32,824,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $320.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $319.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.56 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.50.

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.