Perpetual Ltd Has $31.56 Million Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Perpetual Ltd lowered its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd owned about 0.36% of Lithia Motors worth $31,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 31.8% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at about $897,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $143,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 119,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,285,000 after buying an additional 2,638 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $306.31 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.36 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.07.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

About Lithia Motors

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.