Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires Shares of 130,109 Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 130,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,505,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.49% of Lithia Motors as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. 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 worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.9 %

LAD stock opened at $351.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $368.56 and a 200-day moving average of $319.42. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

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.