Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 459 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter valued at about $114,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $315.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $283.36 and a 200 day moving average of $271.86. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.36 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.00.

About Lithia Motors

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.