Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,479 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $365.91.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of LAD traded up $2.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $282.28. The stock had a trading volume of 88,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,629. The company has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $343.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

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.