Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 1,488 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,488 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $10,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $113,250,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $91,190,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,505,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,311,000 after acquiring an additional 120,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after acquiring an additional 105,611 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of LAD opened at $307.04 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.43. The firm has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.