Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 215,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,233 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $72,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 119,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 280,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,325,000 after purchasing an additional 25,331 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,505,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,824,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,046,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $293.61 on Monday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.10 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $320.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.51.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.37%.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Company 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.