Boston Partners Has $18.74 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Boston Partners reduced its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,236 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $18,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $304.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $345.78 and a 200-day moving average of $341.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.