New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 4,297 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,297 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.13% of Lithia Motors worth $7,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,583,000 after purchasing an additional 6,113 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after buying an additional 186,628 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after buying an additional 33,966 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after buying an additional 14,781 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $125,214,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.22.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded up $1.28 on Tuesday, hitting $310.30. The stock had a trading volume of 30,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,005. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $289.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.