Signaturefd LLC Has $79,000 Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 23.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 249 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after acquiring an additional 48,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,502.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 48,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,445,000 after acquiring an additional 45,866 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.6 %

LAD opened at $341.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $233.88 and a 12 month high of $341.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,606 in the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently 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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.