ING Groep NV Takes $2.63 Million Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 7,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after buying an additional 10,118 shares in the last quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,009,000 after buying an additional 45,856 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $58,409,000. Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $1,722,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 142,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,959,000 after purchasing an additional 16,226 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 4.2%

NYSE:LAD opened at $304.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $277.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.56. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966 over the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Company 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.