10,105 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Purchased by Concentric Capital Strategies LP

Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,210,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $540,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 523.0% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 9,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Lithia Motors by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 173,500 shares of the company's stock worth $55,111,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $387.28. The company had a trading volume of 222,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,675. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $341.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.81.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.60.

About Lithia Motors

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.