Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,823,369 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.26% of Lithia Motors worth $929,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms recently weighed in on LAD. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Lithia Motors from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.45.
Get Our Latest Report on LAD
Lithia Motors Price Performance
Shares of LAD stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $248.70. The company had a trading volume of 418,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,936. The business's 50-day moving average is $259.42 and its 200 day moving average is $282.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.62. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $231.36 and a one year high of $331.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.
Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 15.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Lithia Motors Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.26%.
Insider Activity at Lithia Motors
In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total value of $35,109.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,847.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Lithia Motors Company 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.
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