Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Grows Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) (2024)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 5th, 2024

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,006 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,976,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 492,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,383,000 after purchasing an additional 45,977 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in Lithia Motors by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 82,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,734,000 after purchasing an additional 33,405 shares during the period. Kensico Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp now owns 113,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,372,000 after purchasing an additional 33,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,288.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 31,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,410,000 after purchasing an additional 29,567 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total transaction of $35,109.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at $566,847.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim cut Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $285.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.55.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on LAD

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.5 %

LAD stock opened at $265.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.36 and a 1-year high of $331.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $267.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $284.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 15.62%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.