UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 2,346 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,309 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,346 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $22,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39,624 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at $2,228,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $2,025,000. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,190,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Shauna McIntyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $385.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $352.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.89. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Lithia Motors

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.