Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $386.90. The stock had a trading volume of 84,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,231. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $338.59 and its 200 day moving average is $292.90.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $357.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294. Insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

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.