Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $321,000 Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,270 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,971,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 100,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,147,000 after buying an additional 25,523 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 989.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,946,000 after purchasing an additional 13,626 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 96.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 610 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $306.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.10. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.36 and a 12-month high of $331.96. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

Lithia Motors 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.