Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Lowers Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lowered its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $4,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 510,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,428,000 after acquiring an additional 11,674 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $152,752,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 362,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,398,000 after purchasing an additional 55,142 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $113,250,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LAD. Evercore ISI raised 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $290.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $319.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.91. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.