Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Purchased by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of LAD opened at $251.70 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.36 and a 1-year high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.94. The stock has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $270.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total transaction of $35,109.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,847.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.