Holocene Advisors LP Has $7.04 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,149 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,265 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned about 0.08% of Lithia Motors worth $7,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $607,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company's stock worth $17,774,000 after purchasing an additional 13,126 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company's stock worth $40,609,000 after acquiring an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 46.1% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company's stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $382.00. 263,387 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,460. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $344.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.23. 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 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.65.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.