780 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Bought by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $234,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 217,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,960,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 392.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 34,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,049,000 after acquiring an additional 27,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $382.84 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $312.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.34. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $388.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

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.