Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd Sells 397 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89 shares of the company’s stock after selling 397 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abrams Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the first quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,444,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,611,000 after acquiring an additional 53,490 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% during the first quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,342 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,267,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,053,000 after acquiring an additional 72,980 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.8% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 376,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,508,000 after acquiring an additional 30,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advent International L.P. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.1% during the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 286,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,183,000 after acquiring an additional 69,635 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 2.2%

LAD opened at $332.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.10 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $323.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.05.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.37%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $403,236.80. The trade was a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.