Xponance Inc. Has $866,000 Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Xponance Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 643 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 80.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth $114,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAD. Bank of America boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $320.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.36 and a fifty-two week high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.02.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.