Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $663,000 Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,628 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Lithia Motors by 132.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,758,000 after acquiring an additional 10,920 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $607,000. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 203,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after purchasing an additional 20,416 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens began coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $334.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of LAD opened at $309.46 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.36 and a 12 month high of $331.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $282.29 and its 200-day moving average is $271.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders 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 is currently 6.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. 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.