Madison Asset Management LLC Has $89.43 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 283,015 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,789 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $89,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 67.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,272,000 after acquiring an additional 45,716 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,407 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $327.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $334.52 and a 200-day moving average of $320.95. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.14. The company has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $410.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $327.00 to $358.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

About Lithia Motors

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.