Malaga Cove Capital LLC Has $318,000 Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,001 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after purchasing an additional 48,938 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 5.3 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $369.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $308.28 and its 200 day moving average is $279.73. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $375.08.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock valued at $9,301,973 over the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $353.80.

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.