Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Purchased by Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 523.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,981 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $116,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LAD. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock traded down $2.97 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $384.33. The company had a trading volume of 398,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $343.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.