Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Bought by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,714 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.89% of Lithia Motors worth $84,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% during 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 during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th 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 lifted 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:LAD traded down $2.90 on Thursday, reaching $314.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 132,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,458. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $357.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.20. The firm has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

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.