1,402 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Purchased by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD traded down $7.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $305.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 283,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,017. The business's 50-day moving average is $356.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.14%.

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.