EntryPoint Capital LLC Has $422,000 Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

EntryPoint Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 362,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,398,000 after purchasing an additional 55,142 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,250,000. Tensile Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 over the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $319.17 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $343.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.