4,193 Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Bought by Fulcrum Asset Management LLP

Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 417.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,197 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,193 shares during the quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 193.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after buying an additional 39,624 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $1,190,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $21,371,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $901,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $2,025,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the sale, the director owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.80.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.3%

LAD stock opened at $312.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.30. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $439.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $312.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 2.06%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.50 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.63%.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc. is an automotive retailer that sells new and pre-owned vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships. Its dealerships represent a range of vehicle manufacturers and also offer related products and services, including parts, maintenance and repairs, and vehicle financing and insurance options. The company traces its roots to a single dealership established in Ashland, Oregon, in 1946. It has since expanded its retail operations across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.