Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,922 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,846 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Lithia Motors worth $33,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company's stock worth $74,436,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 497.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company's stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $731,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $304.66. 142,960 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,223. The firm has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $346.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.56. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $371.36.

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.