Madison Asset Management LLC Has $58.10 Million Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 232,682 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,361 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $58,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,074,000 after acquiring an additional 43,087 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings 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 valued at $206,873,000 after purchasing an additional 33,966 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,781 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,214,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.0%

NYSE LAD opened at $325.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.74. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $360.55. The firm has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given 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 was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.