AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 25.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,565 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $305.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.93 and a 200-day moving average of $272.95. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $231.36 and a one year high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’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 value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 in the last ninety days. 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.