Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 2,108 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,253 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.78% of Lithia Motors worth $74,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 97 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.36.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock traded up $9.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $295.39. The stock had a trading volume of 517,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,547. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.27. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. 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.