Captrust Financial Advisors Has $853,000 Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,687 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,774,000 after purchasing an additional 13,126 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 46.1% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $248,000.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $376.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $348.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 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 company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LAD. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.60.

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.