Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 52 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,416 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LAD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim raised their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $344.10 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $360.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $339.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

About Lithia Motors

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.