Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $76.12 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,048 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,806 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $76,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at about $52,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 4.2%

NYSE:LAD opened at $304.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.56.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.