HighVista Strategies LLC Purchases New Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

HighVista Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company's stock worth $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company's stock worth $115,997,000 after acquiring an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim upped 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of LAD traded down $2.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $384.33. The stock had a trading volume of 398,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.81. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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