Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 255,947 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,880 shares of the company's stock after selling 255,947 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 1.15% of Lithia Motors worth $97,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 204.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,187,000 after acquiring an additional 105,611 shares during the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $1,906,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 22,149 shares of the company's stock worth $7,035,000 after buying an additional 9,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $967,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.6 %

LAD traded down $2.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $380.19. 46,131 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 261,523. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $344.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.23. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors 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.