33,752 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Acquired by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAD. Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 21,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,570,000 after buying an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,002,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $289.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $340.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.91.

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.