Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stake Boosted by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 753,067 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 85,579 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 2.83% of Lithia Motors worth $239,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted 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 worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % 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, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 in the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $2.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $389.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 247,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,065. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $340.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.98. 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 fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

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.