State of Alaska Department of Revenue Raises Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,110 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $80,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $344.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.87. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $347.60. The company has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $350.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock valued at $9,301,973. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.