Wellington Management Group LLP Has $3.05 Million Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,561 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $507,000. Tensile Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the 3rd 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. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 122.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,484,000 after acquiring an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $720,000. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $512,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $370.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $355.49 and its 200 day moving average is $303.37. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Stephens boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Company 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.