Fmr LLC Purchases 85,579 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Fmr LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 753,067 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 2.83% of Lithia Motors worth $239,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $80,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $386.90 on Monday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $340.34 and a 200-day moving average of $293.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 in the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by 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.