696 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Bought by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 132.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,758,000 after purchasing an additional 10,920 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $607,000. Comerica Bank grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 203,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after buying an additional 20,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,774,000 after buying an additional 13,126 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAD. Guggenheim upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.8 %

LAD opened at $371.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $310.97 and a 200-day moving average of $281.11. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $375.15.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date 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.