Bridge City Capital LLC Has $7.57 Million Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,180 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up about 2.0% of Bridge City Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Bridge City Capital LLC owned 0.08% of Lithia Motors worth $7,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 362,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,398,000 after purchasing an additional 55,142 shares during the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,250,000. Tensile Capital Management LP lifted 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 valued at $83,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $306.45 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $345.07 and a 200-day moving average of $341.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

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.