Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Takes Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 130,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,505,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $80,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares in the company, valued at $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $351.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.42. The stock has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current 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 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

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.