Boston Partners Sells 16,236 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Boston Partners lessened its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,427 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,236 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.20% of Lithia Motors worth $18,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th 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 position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during 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 grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in 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 period.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.2 %

LAD traded down $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $319.17. 291,441 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,525. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $344.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $342.37. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 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.