Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases New Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 216,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,015,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $536,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 18.6% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 9,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.7% in the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $369.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $341.26 and a 200-day moving average of $301.18. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

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.