Bridges Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 229,920 shares of the company's stock after selling 841 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up 1.1% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned 0.86% of Lithia Motors worth $82,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter.

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Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LAD shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock traded down $1.95 on Wednesday, reaching $316.15. The company had a trading volume of 735,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,452. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company's fifty day moving average is $358.44 and its 200 day moving average is $341.38. The company has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.