Amalgamated Bank Cuts Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $4,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAD. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the last quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP raised its position in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,071,000 after acquiring an additional 6,252 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,966,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $344.10 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $360.40 and a 200 day moving average 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. 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.