Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LADFree Report) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.45.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $342.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $369.11 and a 200 day moving average of $316.25.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD)

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